assA 


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LIBRARY  OF  THE  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 

PRINCETON,  N.  J. 


Purchased  by  the 
Mrs.   Robert  Lenox  Kennedy  Church  History  Fund. 

BV  2380  :V3  T3^&7g 

Vassar,  T.  E.  b.  1834. 
Uncle  John  Vassar 


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Unele  John  Vassar; 


OR, 


J  A? 


THE  FIGHT  OF  FAITH. 


BY 


THOMAS  E.  VASSAR,  D.  D. 


PREFACE    BY 

ANDREW  A.  BONAR,  D.  D. 

INTRODUCTION  BY 

ADONIRAfl  J.  GORDON,  D.  D. 


AMERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY, 

10  EAST    25d  STREET,  NEW  YORK. 


COPYRIGHT,  1879, 
BY  WALTER  B.  VASSAR, 


Ftom  the  Edition  published  in  Scotland. 


PREFACE 


Dr.  a.  J.  Gordon  has  written  a  stirring  Intro- 
duction to  this  Life,  prepared  by  Dr.  T.  E.  Vassar, 
who  sets  before  us  the  labors  of  John  E.  Vassar  in  a 
style  that  cannot  fail  to  interest  deeply,  and  at  the 
same  time  to  rouse  and  humble  every  reader.  Come, 
see  a  man  in  real  earnest  for  souls ! 

Uncle  John  Vassar  was  a  man  who  seemed  to 
all  who  knew  him  *'a  living  fire."  He  appeared 
every  moment  under  the  influence  of  Peter's  words, 
"  We  must  be  saved!"  Night  and  day  and  all  day 
long,  **  Men  must  be  saved,"  was  the  uppermost 
thought  of  his  soul.  He  knew  that  God's  rule  is  to 
save  men  by  the  agency  of  their  fellow-men ;  and 
this  solemn  thought  urged  him  on  from  one  effort 
to  another.  The  fact  that  God,  in  a  sense,  "sus- 
pends the  salvation  of  sinners  unsaved  upon  the 
exertions  of  those  already  saved,"  kept  him  ever 
watching  for  souls.  Men  drawn  to  the  shore  out  of 
many  waters  must  be  they  who  rescue  others. 

Oh,  brother !  if  you  who  read  this  book  be  un- 
saved still,  may  som.e  lightning  flash  from  the  throne 
of  God  fling  into  your  conscience  this  tremendous 
truth,  '*  We  must  be  saved  !  we  must  be  saved  !" 

The   apostle   Peter  used   these  words  upon   a 


PREFACE. 

remarkable  occasion.  Ke  was  looking  around  upon 
a  great  assembly,  among  whom  were  those  seeking 
his  life ;  but,  filled  with  pity  and  intense  concern  for 
their  souls,  his  words  became  more  and  more  ear- 
nest, until  he  wound  up  in  that  startling  appeal. 
"  We  must  be  saved !"  rang  through  the  judgment- 
hall  where  sat  the  Jewish  Sanhedrin,  that  same 
council  who  not  many  weeks  before  had  pronounced 
the  Lord  Jesus,  the  Lord  of  Glory,  guilty  of  death. 
"  You  and  I,  Caiaphas  and  Annas  !  You  and  I,  John 
and  Alexander!  You  and  I,  august  members  of 
Israel's  Senate,  must  be  saved  !" 

Now  let  lis  go  forth  to  our  fellow-men  in  this 
spirit,  reminding  them  of  eternal  perdition  near,  and 
of  salvation  yet  nearer  still  if  they  will  accept  it. 
Let  us  tell  men  that  every  sin  committed  pronounces 
on  them  the  sentence,  "Thou  shalt  die!"  Let  us 
warn  them,  on  divine  authority,  that  the  death  that 
overhangs  the  sinner  is  the  hell  of  which  the  Lord 
Jesus  says  three  times  in  one  discourse,  "  Where 
their  worm  dieth  not  and  the  fire  is  not  quenched," 
and  that  one  unpardoned  sin  places  a  man  among 
the  left-hand  company  v/ho  go  away  into  everlasting 
punishment.  Oh,  to  be  a  sinner  for  ever!  what  is 
this?  to  lie  down  in  misery  for  ever!  to  be  under 
God's  wrath  for  ever !  in  blank  despair  for  ever  and 
ever!  For  rem.ember,  ''Everlasting"  is  written  on 
the  prison  walls. 

While  vre  who  are  saved  are  too  often  acting  as 


PREFACE. 

if  the  doom  of  the  unsaved  were  not  so  fearful  and 
irremediable,  sinners  die  and  find  out  for  themselves 
that  the   half  was  not  told   them.     God  the   Holy 
Spirit  uses  us  in  awakening  men  to  these  alarmmg 
realities,  and  it  is  by  testimony  from  us  who  are  saved 
that  he  works.     God  warned  Lot  out  of  Sodom,  and 
led  him  to  safety  by  means  of  testimony.     Two  mes- 
sengers came  ;  they  spoke  calmly  and  solemnly  ;  but 
no  external  signs  were  given-no  drops  of  to-mor- 
row's  storm  were  made  to  fall-no  flakes  or  gleam 
of  its  fiery  shower.     God  testilies  by  his  messengers. 
As  his  way  has  ever  been  to  send  men  as  witnesses 
to  their  fellow-men,  we  go  forth  and  call  on  them 
as  did  Uncle  John  Vassar  in  his  day. 

Christ  has  brought  in  everlasting  righteousness. 
Everlasting  is  on  the  deed  of  pardon  which  he 
sealed  with  his  blood.  Everlasting  is  on  the  robe 
of  the  prodigal  in  his  Father's  house,  and  on  his 
shoes,  and  on  his  ring.  Everlastitig  is  on  the  harp 
and  palm  and  crown  of  the  redeemed.  Let  us  go 
then,  and  solemnly  assure  men  of  these  truths. 

This  volume  will  bring  before  you  a  man  whose 
soul  was  evidently  set  on  fire  from  heaven.  He  was 
not  a  pastor,  but  a  trained  missionary  and  a  teacher 
of  the  Way  of  Life,  v/ho  never  tired,  and  who  never 
seemed  to  be  done  working  and  praying— praying 
if  he  was  not  working— and  working  if  he  was  not 
^praying.  He  brings  to  our  mind  the  description 
'  which  Myconius,  the   reformer,  gives  of  Luther  in 


PREFACE. 

his  dream  :  "  A  reaper  toiling  at  the  sickle  with  pro- 
digious  effort,  as  if  he  were  determined  to  reap  the 
whole  field  himself."  Few  of  us  can  throw  ourselves 
into  entire  sympathy  with  every  congregation  we 
visit,  or  every  town.  But  when  John  Vassar  came 
to  a  place,  he  at  once  began  to  work  for  that  people 
with  might  and  main,  giving  them  his  whole  heart 
and  time. 

But  this  is  enough.  Now  let  our  readers  judge 
for  themselves.  Oh,  to  be  delivered  from  spiritual 
indolence !  It  is  high  time  to  awake  out  of  sleep. 
The  night  is  far  spent ;  the  day  is  at  hand. 

ANDREW  A.  BONAR. 
Glasgow. 


CONTENTS. 


Introduction - page      5 

CHAPTER   I. 
The  Recruit — Parentage — Early  Life 23 

CHAPTER   n. 
Mustered  In — Conversion 38 

CHAPTER  HI. 
The  Drill — Christian  Discipline - 33 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Assigned  to  Service — Goes  West - 43 

CHAPTER  V. 
Off  on  Furlough — Leaves  Tract  Society  Work  for  a  Time 55 

CHAPTER  VI. 
Going  to  the  Front — Recommissioned  for  Army  Service —    86 

CHAPTER  VII. 
New  Campaigns — Work  among  Freedmen  and  Miners 128 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
All  along  the  Lines— General  Evangelistic  Endeavors 152 


4  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  IX. 
Weapons  in  the  Fight — Personal  Characteristics- 185 

CHAPTER  X. 
The  Veteran  Disabled— Laid  aside  by  Sickness 212 

CHAPTER  XI. 
Honorably  Discharged — Death  and  Burial --  217 

CHAPTER  XII. 
Servi.ce  Reviewed— Memorial  Services— Press  Notices 227 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Frontispiece 

Birth-place  .  .  .  - 

"The  Recruit" 

"The  Lafayette  Street  House" 

The  General's  Headquarters 

"A    IvOG-HOUSE    FOR   THE   SCHOOL" 

A  New  England  "District  School" 
Home  Gift  of  Loving  Christian  Friends 
"The  Church  on  Mill  Street" 
The  Gospel  Tent 


Facing  page 


23 
27 

31 
no 

133 
^59 
221 
222 
240 


"Thyself  and  thy  belonginjj^s 
x\re  not  thine  own  so  proper  as  to  waste 
Thyself  upon  thy  virtues,  they  on  thee. 
Heaven  doth  with  us  as  we  with  torches  do, 
Not  light  them  for  themselves;  for  if  our  virtues 
Did  not  go  forth  of  us,  't  were  all  alike 
As  if  we  had  them  not.     Spirits  are  not  finely  touched 
But  to  fine  issues;  nor  Nature  never  lends 
The  smallest  scruple  of  her  excellence, 
But,  like  a  thrifty  goddess,  she  determines 
Herself  the  glory  of  a  creditor — 
Both  thanks  and  use." 


INTRODUCTION. 


We  are  quite  accustomed  to  think  of  religious  heroes  like 
other  heroes,  as  belonging  almost  exclusively  to  a  past  age. 
We  read  with  admiration  of  the  lives  and  labors  of  such  men 
of  God  as  Rutherford,  and  Baxter,  and  Fiavel,  and  McCheyne, 
and  Brainerd,  and  Henry  Martyn,  and  Judson,  and  we  say 
mentally  at  least,  "  Ah  yes,  but  we  have  no  such  workers  for 
God  in  our  age."  Doubtless  we  have  but  few  of  them,  for 
they  are  confessedly  rare  in  any  period.  But  it  is  our  convic- 
tion, deepened  and  confirmed  by  several  years  of  intimate  ac- 
quaintance, that  the  servant  of  God  whom  this  volume  com- 
memorates was  not  a  whit  behind  any  one  of  these  great  soul- 
winners  whom  we  have  named,  either  in  ardent  zeal,  or  sin- 
gleness of  consecration,  or  exalted  piet}^  I  should  not  make 
this  statement  were  I  not  sure  that  there  are  scores  of  the 
most  thoughtful  Christians,  both  among  the  ministers  and  the 
laymen  of  our  churches,  who  will  be  ready  at  once  to  endorse 

it. 

To  one  who  never  met  him  it  would  be  quite  impossible  to 
describe  the  impression  vdiich  he  instantly  made  on  meeting 
him.  He  gave  one  literally  a  powerful  electric  shock  the 
moment  he  touched  him.  There  was  such  intensity  of  zeal, 
accompanied  with  such  a  magnetic  manner,  that  the  impres- 
sion was  instantaneous  and  quite  overwhelming.  It  was  the 
I* 


6  im'RODUCTION. 

lightning-like  penetration  of  a  piety  that  was  always  charged 
to  the  highest  pitch.  Indeed,  it  was  the  first  question  that 
occurred  to  one,  how  it  could  be  possible  for  a  man  to  live  in 
such  a  tense  and  highly-wrought  condition  of  religious  fervor. 
Yet  there  was  very  little  apparent  variation  of  temperature. 
He  travelled  from  Maine  to  Florida,  from  the  Atlantic  coast 
to  the  Pacific,  on  foot,  on  horseback,  by  rail,  and  by  steamer, 
resting  not  in  summer  or  in  winter,  in  the  one  intense,  eager 
pursuit  of  lost  souls  ;  and  wherever  you  found  him  there  was 
the  same  burning  zeal  speaking  out  in  his  looks  and  in  his 
words.  He  was  always  moving  in  his  work  at  a  pace  much 
nearer  to  a  run  than  to  a  walk.  In  his  humility  he  named 
himself  "  The  Shepherd's  Dog,"  and  I  often  thought  when  I 
saw  him,  of  the  aptness  of  the  name  in  another  sense  than 
that  which  he  intended.  For  he  was  not  only  wonderfully 
successful  in  bringing  home  lost  sheep  to  the  good  Shepherd, 
but  he  followed  them  with  the  keen  scent  and  the  swift  pace 
of  the  hound  upon  the  track  of  his  game,  tiring  not,  resting 
not,  till  he  had  won  the  object  of  his  pursuit. 

It  may  be  permitted,  in  this  introduction,  penned  by  one 
who  was  privileged  to  know  this  good  man  intimately  and  to 
see  much  of  his  work,  to  point  out  the  most  striking  traits  o£ 
his  religious  character,  to  indicate  his  methods  of  working, 
and  to  draw  therefrom  such  lessons  as  may  be  useful  to 
Christian  workers. 

In  the  first  place  I  recall  with  deepest  interest  his  singular 
consecration  and  pra3'erfulness.  Is  it  possible  for  one  to  live 
for  a  single  end — the  glory  of  God  in  the  salvation  of  souls, 
and  to  pursue  that  end  with  all  the  ardor  and  enthusiasm  with 
which  the  merchant  pursues  a  fortune  or  the  politician  an 
office  ?  It  is  good  to  find  in  this  skeptical  age  one  life  that 
can   answer   that  question   without  any  qualification.     This 


INTR  OD  UCTION.  f 

man  knew  nothing  else,  thought  of  nothing  else,  asked  for 
nothing  else,  but  this  one  thing.  When  he  came  occa- 
sionally to  work  among  my  flock,  he  at  once  took  the 
whole  church  and  people  on  his  heart,  and  began  to  travail  for 
ihem  in  prayer,  as  though  his  very  life  depended  on  the  issue. 
This  intercession  continued  "  night  and  day  with  tears  "  as 
long  as  he  was  with  us.  He  never  said  indeed  that  he  had 
prayed  all  night.  But  I  could  hear  him  again  and  again 
breaking  forth  in  the  darkness  "with  strong  crying"  unto 
God,  and  I  knew  what  the  burden  was.  It  was  this  congrega- 
tion, strangers  to  him  till  to-day.  It  was  this  flock,  not  one  of 
whom  had  he  ever  seen  till  now.  So  Christlike  was  the  love 
of  this  man,  whose  field  was  the  world,  that  each  lost  soul  was 
just  as  dear  to  him  as  every  other.  With  a  soul  knit  into 
unbroken  fellowship  with  Christ,  he  had  become  "baptized 
into  a  sense  of  all  conditions."  He  did  not  love  men  with  the 
natural  heart  any  longer.  He  could  say  with  Paul,  "  God  is 
my  witness,  how  greatly  I  long  after  you  all  in  the  heart  of 
Jesus  Christ."  This  habitual  prayerfulness  was  something  so 
wonderful  that  I  wish  to  emphasize  it  as  furnishing  the  true 
secret  of  his  life.  A  lady  at  whose  house  he  spent  a  night 
told  me  that  in  the  morning  her  Roman-catholic  servant-girl 
came  down,  and  with  an  astonished  expression  said,  "  Mrs. 

B ,  that  old  man  was  praying  all  night ;  I  could  not  sleep 

it  made  me  feel  so.  But  I  should  never  be  afraid  with  such 
a  man  in  the  house."  It  was  impossible  that  he  should  not 
pray  thus.  It  was  with  him  as  with  the  devoted  John  Welch, 
of  whom  Fleming  says  that  he  used  to  make  his  nights  such 
Gethsemane  seasons  that  his  family  had  often  to  remonstrate 
with  him  for  losing  his  sleep ;  when  he  would  reply,  ''  Ah,  but 
I  have  the  souls  of  three  thousand  to  answer  for,  and  I  know 
not  how  it  is  with  many  of  them."      And  all  through  the  day 


8  INTR  on  UCTION. 

the  intercession  went  on.  If  he  met  with  rebuffs  or  discour- 
agements, he  would  gird  up  the  loins  of  his  mind  with  a  silent 
prayer,  and  then  press  on  undaunted.  If  he  had  a  moment  to 
spare  while  waiting  for  dinner,  he  would  snatch  refreshment 
from  his  Bible,  and  then  drop  upon  his  knees  for  a  few  words 
with  the  great  Life  and  Lover  of  his  soul.  And  such  was  the 
unbroken  tenor  of  his  life  for  years. 

Another  most  impressive  and  instructive  trait  of  his  char- 
acter was  his  intense  absorption  in  his  labor,  so  that  it  was  a 
real  and  abounding  joy  for  him  to  do  it.  It  is  the  truest  test 
of  one's  devotion  to  his  work,  whether  he  is  reluctant  to  lay 
it  down  when  the  hour  comes  for  dining  or  sleeping.  A  most 
striking  illustration  of  the  Master's  consuming  zeal  in  labor- 
ing for  the  lost  appears  in  his  indifference  to  the  claims  of 
hunger  and  fatigue,  as,  "  wearied  with  his  journey,"  he  sat  on 
Jacob's  well  talking  with  the  woman  of  Samaria.  To  him 
bodily  hunger  was  not  to  be  thought  of,  if  he  could  satisfy 
his  hunger  for  a  soul's  salvation.  To  him,  the  parching  thirst 
begotten  by  a  tropic  noonday  sun  was  nothing,  if  he  could 
give  to  a  famishing  sinner  to  drink  of  the  water  of  life,  that 
she  might  never  thitst.  "  Master,  eat,"  was  the  urgent  invita- 
tion of  the  disciples.  "  I  have  meat  to  eat  that  ye  know  not 
of,"  was  his  reply.  And  to  their  incredulous  question,  "  Hath 
any  man  brought  him  aught  to  eat?"  he  replied,  "My  meat 
is  to  do  the  will  of  him  that  sent  me,  and  to  finish  his  work." 
That  is  a  consecration  to  which  very  few  probably  attain,  to 
be  so  utterly  absorbed  in  holy  work  that  the  bread  of  service 
shall  be  sv/eeter  than  the  bread  of  the  table,  and  the  meat  of 
doing  the  Master's  will  shall  be  better  than  the  meat  of 
bodily  food. 

The  good  man  of  whom  we  are  speaking  so  loved  the 
service  of  his   Master  that  it  was  often  quite  impossible  to 


INTJ^  OD  UCTION.  9 

draw  him  away  from  it  when  the  hour  for  dining  came.  He 
would  constantly  forget  the  claims  of  bodily  hunger  when 
engaged  with  an  inquiring  soul.  He  had  often  to  be  forced 
away  from  his  work,  by  those  who  cared  more  for  his  physical 
needs  than  he  himself  could  be  made  to  care.  Flavel  tells 
how,  in  one  of  his  rare  seasons  of  communion  wdth  God,  he 
became  so  absorbed  in  heavenly  contem.plation  that  he  was 
lost  to  the  flight  of  time,  to  hunger  and  to  all  outward  things. 
It  was  literally  so  with  this  great  worker's  absorption  in  his  toil. 
He  forgot  the  flight  of  time  ;  he  heard  not  the  call  to  rest  and 
refreshment ;  he  heeded  not  the  gnawings  of  hunger.  Indeed, 
he  seemed  at  times  entirely  insensible  to  every  earthly  thing, 
in  his  overmastering  and  consuming  desire  to  get  the  souls 
saved  for  which  he  was  laboring. 

We  do  not  say  that  such  indifference  to  the  claims  of  the 
body  is  to  be  commended  to  the  imitation  of  all  Christian 
workers.  Undoubtedly  we  can  serve  Christ  more  efficiently, 
as  a  rule,  to  be  punctiliously  careful  in  attending  to  all  the 
conditions  of  physical  health  and  comfort.  But  it  is  inspiring 
to  witness  such  an  example  of  supreme  devotion  to  the  Mas- 
ter's business  amid  so  many  sad  illustrations  of  working  by 
measure,  and  timing  service  for  Christ  by  the  clock  and  the 
dinner-bell.  There  is  a  quaint  passage  on  this  point  in  Adam 
Bede,  which  we  have  never  forgotten.  "  I  can't  abide,"  sa3's 
the  speaker,  "  to  see  men  throw  away  their  tools  i'  that  way, 
the  minute  the  clock  begins  to  strike,  as  if  they  took  no  pleas- 
ure i'  their  work,  and  were  afraid  of  doing  a  stroke  too  much. 
I  hate  to  see  a  man's  arm  drop  down  as  if  he  was  shot,  before 
the  clock's  fairly  struck,  just  as  if  he  'd  never  a  bit  o'  pride 
and  delight  in  's  work.  The  very  grindstone  ull  go  on  turn- 
ing a  bit  after  you  loose  it." 

And  is  there  not  a  serious  thought  here  to  be  taken  to 


lo  INl'RODUCTION. 

heart?  How  many  servants  of  God  stop  their  work,  however 
pressing  it  may  be,  when  noontime  comes !  How  many 
ministers  rush  from  their  pulpits  like  relieved  prisoners  of  toil 
the  moment  the  first  day  of  "  vacation  "  arrives  !  And  how 
many,  on  the  other  hand,  are  so  in  the  toil  of  whole-hearted, 
self-forgetful  consecration,  that  they  are  borne  on  past  the 
time  of  dinner,  past  the  time  of  sleeping,  past  the  allotted  hour 
of  recreation,  when  the  interests  of  souls  are  at  stake  ?  Un- 
doubtedly a  great  attainment  lies  yet  before  us — that  of  find- 
ing it  really  our  meat  to  do  the  Master's  wall,  as  it  was  his 
meat  to  do  the  Father's  will ;  to  feed  so  truly  on  the  "  hidden 
manna  "  that  we  can,  if  need  be,  put  off,  for  a  while,  the  claims 
of  bodily  hunger,  to  satisfy  the  more  pressing  claims  of  hunger 
and  thirst  after  righteousness  in  those  to  whom  the  Lord  has 
sent  us  with  the  "bread  of  life." 

It  was  I  think  in  the  work  of  personal  conversation  with 
the  unconverted  that  Mr.  Vassar  did  his  greatest  work,  and 
exhibited  the  most  remarkable  power.  The  intensity  and 
boldness  of  his  appeals,  the  tenderness  and  pathos  of  his 
entreaty,  the  tireless  patience  of  his  struggle  for  conquest  wa? 
something  which  I  never  saw  approached,  and  which  I  now 
remember  with  the  greatest  admiration.  That  old  Puritan 
phrase,  "  Closing  in  with  the  sinner,"  expresses  what  he 
invariably  did  when  he  approached  the  unconverted.  He 
grappled  with  the  soul  like  a  spiritual  athlete.  His  whole 
bearing  was  that  of  one  who  knew  himself  to  be  wrestling, 
"  not  with  flesh  and  blood,  but  wdth  principalities  and  powers." 
He  had  every  weapon  at  instant  command,  and  used  each  in 
turn  as  with  the  sharpest  insight  he  saw  w^hat  was  needed. 
It  was  now  the  "  terror  of  the  Lord  "  and  now  "  the  love  of 
Christ,"  now  the  freeness  of  salvation,  now  the  certainty  of 
"  the  wrath  to  come,"  all  brought  to  bear  with  such  tearful 


INTR  OD  UCTION'.  1 1 

tenderness  that  the  effect  was  often  perfectly  overwhelming. 
And  I  do  not  exaggerate,  when  I  say  that  his  subjects  gener- 
ally had  either  to  surrender  or  to  flee,  such  was  the  vehemency 
of  his  approaches.  What  always  struck  me  as  most  remark- 
able in  his  personal  conversations  was  their  absolute  abrupt- 
ness. In  scores  of  interviews  of  the  sort  which  I  have  wit- 
nessed, I  never  once  remember  his  introducing  his  subject 
with  any  preliminary  remarks.  He  came  at  once  to  the  theme. 
His  first  question,  after  the  ordinary  salutation,  was  generally 
the  vital  question,  "  My  friend,  will  you  kindly  permit  me  to 
ask,  have  you  been  born  again  ?" 

This  method  I  think  he  adopted  deliberately,  as  having 
been  proved  by  years  of  experience  the  wisest.  Noticing  the 
shock  and  revulsion  which  this  abrupt  approach  sometimes 
produced,  I  used  to  regret  that  he  was  not  more  circuitous  in 
his  advances.  But  I  confess  that  with  larger  experience  I 
have  changed  my  mind  and  come  to  the  conclusion  that  this 
directness  is  one  of  the  most  vital  conditions  of  success  in 
personal  conversation.  It  does  not  require  long  experience 
to  teach  one  the  danger  of  starting  a  train  of  general  conver- 
sation when  dealing  with  the  unconverted.  For  such  a  current 
once  started  the  tide  may  easily  become  so  strong  that  it  will 
be  found  exceedingly  difficult  to  divert  it  into  the  desired 
channel.  Indeed,  if  the  person  addressed  desires  to  avoid 
the  subject,  he  will  often  do  his  best  to  prevent  this  result,  by 
keeping  up  a  strain  of  rapid  and  distracting  talk  and  even 
leading  on  if  possible  into  light  and  trivial  discussion,  to  turn 
aside  from  which  into  the  subject  of  personal  salvation  will  be 
far  more  abrupt  and  difficult  than  it  v/ould  have  been  to  strike 
the  subject  at  the  outset. 

We  must  remember  that  this  personal  dealing  with  men  is 
often  a  duel  of  wills.     And  in  this  duel  the  strongest  and  most 


12  INTRO  D  UCTION. 

athletic  will  will  be  likely  to  conquer,  other  things  being  equal. 
Hence  it  is  a  fair  question  with  the  spiritual  gladiator,  how  to 
get  the  advantage  of  his  antagonist.  He  should  adopt  the 
best  possible  strategy,  and  aim  to  effect  by  his  alertness  and 
skill  what  he  might  fail  to  accomplish  by  main  force.  Hence 
John  Vassar's  method  was  to  strike  a  man  at  once  with  the 
most  direct  and  vital  question  which  could  be  brought  to  bear. 
Instead  of  hinting  by  a  lengthened  introduction  what  he  pro- 
posed to  do,  he  did  it  before  his  subject  had  time  to  gather 
himself  up  or  brace  himself  against  the  attack.  And  no 
sooner  was  the  battle  opened  than  it  was  followed  up  with  the 
intensest  rapidity,  by  appeal,  and  argument,  and  warning,  and 
entreaty,  all  ending  in  a  most  fervent  and  melting  plea  at  the 
throne  of  grace  that  the  Spirit  would  seal  his  words  to  him  who 
had  heard  them. 

The  results  were  various,  of  course.  The  person  address- 
ed was  always  stunned  and  startled,  sometimes  made  angry  ; 
but  in  multitudes  of  cases  wounded  into  life.  There  was  never 
the  slightest  tinge  of  severity,  mark  you,  in  the  abruptness. 
If  there  was  a  tremendous  grappling  with  the  soul,  it  was  a 
battle  in  which  tears  and  entreaties  were  the  prevailing  weap- 
ons ;  and  no  rebuffs  or  abuse  could  ever  draw  from  him  a 
single  impatient  utterance.  It  was  not  his  harshness  but  his 
intense  earnestness  that  so  roused  men.  Indeed  you  can  well 
imagine  what  would  be  the  result  for  a  man  of  this  sort  to  go 
through  some  street  in  proud,  cultivated,  aristocratic  Boston, 
ringing  every  door-bell  and  confronting  every  household  with 
this  great  question  of  the  new^  birth.  And  this  is  what  he  did 
repeatedly  when  he  labored  with  me.  T  generally  heard  from 
his  visits,  and  sometimes  in  anything  but  complimentary  terms. 
But  he  left  an  impression  which  could  not  be  shaken  off,  and 
from  which  fruit,  in  some  cases,  was  gathered  years  after.     In 


INTRODUCTION.  13 

a  very  appreciati\'e  notice  of  him  by  a  well-known  minister  he 
speaks  of  the  habit  of  going  from  house  to  house  with  his  in- 
evitable question,  and  says,  ''  I  have  known  him  to  set  a  whole 
town  in  an  uproar  by  this  spiritual  census-taking.  But  when 
his  sub-soil  ploughshare  had  turned  a  community  upside  down, 
then  was  the  time  for  fruitful  work."  And  that  is  true.  I'he 
very  offence  which  he  so  frequently  gave,  was  often  the  open 
door  into  hearts  hitherto  hopelessly  closed. 

I  must  refer  again  to  the  method  of  direct  and  immediate 
approach  in  dealing  with  souls,  in  order  to  emphasize  its  im- 
portance. I  believe  it  to  be  the  first  and  almost  the  highest 
condition  of  success  in  the  work.  When  a  timid  and  self-dis- 
trustful Christian  engages  with  a  resolute,  bold,  self-poised 
unbeliever,  there  is,  humanly  speaking,  an  immense  disparity 
between  them.  The  Christian  standing  on  the  word  of  God, 
and  resting  in  the  might  of  the  Spirit,  has  a  vantage  ground  of 
course,  which  no  natural  qualities  can  give  a  man.  But  never- 
theless there  comes  a  grapple  between  mind  and  mind,  between 
will  and  will,  between  purpose  and  purpose.  The  danger  is 
not  that  the  unbeliever  will  conquer  the  believer  and  bring 
him  to  his  views.  But  there  is  danger  that  he  will  defeat  him 
in  his  present  purpose,  that  he  will  so  swing  him  into  the 
current  of  his  stronger  will,  that  he  will  so  deflect  him  from 
his  aim  by  the  force  of  his  stronger  determination,  as  to  thwart 
his  efforts  to  deal  with  him  regarding  his  soul.  If  we  hold 
two  globules  of  water  on  the  finger,  and  then  let  them  touch, 
one  will  drink  up  the  other ;  and  it  is  generally  the  larger 
that  absorbs  the  smaller.  If  two  minds  come  in  contact,  one 
will  in  like  manner  often  completely  appropriate  and  hold  in 
ics  embrace  the  other.  But  here,  while  as  a  rule  the  stronger 
will  win,  it  is  certainly  possible  for  the  weaker  to  win — for  the 
timid  to  sway  the  bold,  for  the  humble  to  master  the  proud. 


14  INTRODUCTION. 

And  therefore  the  secret  of  victory  lies,  I  believe,  in  this  one 
thing  more  than  in  any  other:  celerity,  a  rapid  deploying 
of  the  mental  forces  and  a  brisk  and  determined  advance 
before  the  stronger  has  had  time  to  marshal  his  resources. 
This  was  the  invariable  method  of  our  friend  of  whom  I 
am  speaking.  This  is  the  striking  characteristic  of  Mr. 
Moody's  conversations  with  the  unconverted.  It  is  all  in  the 
art  of  "stealing  a  march  "on  the  sinner,  to  use  a  colloquial 
phrase.  In  Mr.  Vassar's  case  I  should  use  a  still  stronger 
phrase,  only  in  a  tropical  sense.  His  habit  was  to  stun  a  man 
at  the  first  blow,  and  reason  with  him  afterward. 

Of  course,  in  using  these  expressions  it  is  not  implied  that 
the  unconverted  man  is  an  enemy  whom  we  are  to  dragoon 
into  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Only  as  a  matter  of  fact  he  will 
often  resist  our  approaches  and  do  his  best  to  thwart  our 
efforts  at  personal  dealing  with  him.  And  it  becomes  us  as 
alert  soldiers  to  strike  for  the  citadel  of  the  heart  at  once, 
instead  of  giving  him  time  to  fortify,  while  we  are  engaged  in 
the  light  skirmishing  and  counter-marching  of  general  conver- 
sation. 

While  we  are  on  this  subject  of  personal  conversation  with 
the  unconverted,  I  wish  to  refer  to  another  point  on  which  Mr. 
Vassar  exhibited  peculiar  genius,  viz.^  his  skill  in  dropping  a 
brief  pungent  word  into  the  mind  when  there  was  no  oppor- 
tunity for  an  extended  conversation.  Jeremy  Taylor,  in  his 
treatise  on  Holy  Living,  has  much  to  say  upon  the  value  of 
"  ejaculatory  prayer  " — the  brief  pointed  petitions  interjected 
between  the  ordinary  and  more  lengthened  seasons  of  devo- 
tion. This  good  man  taught  me,  as  I  never  learned  it  before, 
the  value  of  ejaculatory  admonition.  He  was  always  finding 
opportunity  to  interject  some  pungent  text  of  Scripture,  or 
some  startling  warning  or  suggestion  into  the  mind  of  those 


INTRODUCTION.  15 

whom  he  chanced  to  meet  casually.  And  I  learned  in  some 
instances  of  great  good  following  these  brief  words.  I  recall 
a  simple  illustration  of  this  habit.  When  riding  into  the 
country  with  him  to  attend  a  service,  a  traveller  stopped  us  on 
a  lonely  road  to  inquire  his  direction,  adding  that  being  a 
stranger  in  the  neighborhood  he  had  lost  his  way.  "  How 
sad  it  would  be,"  interposed  Mr.  Vassar,  addressing  him  with 
great  solemnity,  "if  you  should  lose  your  way  to  heaven. 
Strive  to  enter  in  at  the  strait  gate.  For  wide  is  the  gate  and 
broad  is  the  way  that  leadeth  to  destruction,  and  many  there 
be  which  go  in  thereat."  I  could  see  at  a  glance  that  the 
words  made  an  impression,  and  that  the  loneliness  of  the 
traveller  and  his  anxiety  to  find  his  way  were  just  the  circum- 
stances to  enforce  most  powerfully  this  wayside  message. 
Perhaps  this  may  seem  a  small  matter  for  the  consideration  of 
the  Christian  worker.  But  I  am  persuaded  that  in  his  case  it 
was  a  very  great  matter  when  reckoned  in  the  sum  total  of  his 
success.  We  heard  a  bank  cashier  describe  recently  the 
habits  of  a  millionaire  who  had  just  died.  "  One  secret  of  his 
success  in  acquiring  his  fortune,"  he  said,  "was  his  economy 
in  little  sums.  He  never  wasted  a  sheet  of  paper,  or  a  pos- 
tage stamp.  He  never  threw  in  an  odd  cent  in  making  change. 
Every  loose  fragment  however  small  was  gathered  up."  Well, 
the  children  of  the  world  ought  not  to  be  wiser  in  their  gene- 
ration than  the  children  of  light.  Admonished  as  we  are  to 
"redeem  the  time,"  "to  be  instant  in  season,  out  of  season," 
we  can  not  overestimate  the  importance  of  economizing  stray 
opportunities.  And  while  volumes  have  been  written  on  the 
art  of  making  sermons,  let  me  enforce  this  lesson  on  making 
sermonettes,  on  thrusting  in  the  gospel  brieflet  where  the 
occasion  will  not  allow  of  the  lengthened  discourse.  It  is,  we 
venture  to  say,  the  hardest  chapter  in   Homiletics  to  learn. 


i6  INTRODUCTION. 

Preachers  spend  so  much  time  in  getting  inured  to  Saul's 
armor  with  its  close-fitting  joints  of  logic,  with  its  burnished 
ornaments  of  rhetoric  and  illustration,  that  if  they  do  not  come 
to  disdain  David's  sling  they  have  little  time  to  practise  with 
it.  But  the  man  of  God  that  will  be  thoroughly  furnished, 
must  learn  the  value  of  the  humble  sling  of  ejaculatory  warn- 
ing, and  the  smooth  stone  of  Scripture  quotation.  And  if  we 
imagine  that  these  are  only  inferior  weapons  fitted  for  reach- 
ing the  heart  of  the  simple-minded  and  ignorant,  let  us  re- 
member that  there  is  nothing  mightier  in  all  God's  armory 
than  a  text  of  Scripture,  and  that  one  of  these  may  like  David's 
pebble  hit  the  head,  when  we  only  expected  it  to  strike  no 
higher  than  the  heart. 

The  life  of  which  I  am  speaking  made  a  profound  impres- 
sion in  another  direction,  viz.^  by  the  startling  contrast  which 
it  presented  to  the  ordinary  life  of  the  world,  and  hardly  less 
to  the  ordinary  quality  of  piety  in  the  church.  I  pass  in  say- 
ing this  from  the  power  and  use  of  Christian  conversation  to 
that  of  Christian  example.  A  humble  man  v/ho  never  spoke 
of  himself,  except  in  terms  of  depreciation,  and  to  whom  any 
suggestion  of  credit  or  praise  always  seemed  painful,  he  at  the 
same  time  gave  the  most  powerful  illustration  which  I  have 
ever  witnessed  of  utter  and  unreserved  consecration  to  God. 
I  am  sure  I  do  not  exaggerate  w^hen  I  say  that  there  was  noth- 
ing in  this  world,  from  riches  to  bodily  comfort,  from  reputa- 
tion to  personal  gratification,  that  had  the  slightest  attraction 
for  him.  Instead  of  being  perplexed  to  acquire  money  as  so 
many  Christian-s  are,  he  seemed  greatly  perplexed  if  any  came 
into  his  hand  to  know  what  to  do  with  it.  If  a  ten-dollar  gold 
piece  were  slipped  into  his  pocket — as  was  often  done  by  som.e 
grateful  convert — he  would  act  like  a  citizen  of  heaven  won- 
dering "  whose  image  and  superscription  "  this  could  be,  and 


INTR  OD  UCriON.  1 7 

what  possible  value  this  coin  could  have  for  him  "  a  stranger 
and  a  pilgrim  in  the  earth."  If  I  were  to  describe  his  pecu- 
liarities in  this  direction,  I  fear  I  should  make  him  appear 
almost  grotesque  in  his  indifference  to  the  things  of  this  world. 
Suffice  it  to  say  he  seemed  to  have  become  absolutely  natural- 
ized as  a  citizen  of  heaven,  and  to  be  living  in  the  world  for 
the  sole  object  of  getting  men  out  of  it,  and  introducing  them 
into  the  kingdom  of  God. 

You  will  not  wonder  perhaps  that  this  utter  unworldliness, 
and  this  entire  indifference  alike  to  the  praise  and  to  the 
blame,  to  the  rewards  and  to  the  reproaches  of  men,  should 
have  made  him  very  unacceptable  to  many  Christians.     We 
talk  admiringly  of  apostolic  zeal  and  primitive  piety,  but  let  a 
genuine  fragment  of  this  piety  suddenly  fall  into  the  midst  of 
us,  and  I  am  not  so  certain  that  it  will  be  greeted  with  unqual- 
ified applause.     Extremes  can  never  meet  without  commotion. 
A  red-hot  enthusiasm  for  Christ  plunged   snddenly  into   an 
element  of  lukewarm  piety,  will  inevitably  produce  a  hissing 
and  ebullition.     Contrariety  of  character  is  sufficient  to  awa- 
ken antagonism  even  if  there  is  no  hostility  of  spirit.     This 
principle   holds  everywhere,  in   doctrine,   in   life,  in  morals. 
The  bare,  silent  presentation  of  a  startling  contrast  is  a  signal 
for  disturbance.     When  Edward  Irving,  at  the  height  of  his 
popularity,  was  invited  to  preach  the  annual  sermon  before  the 
London  Missionary  Society,  he  set  himself  to  work  he  tells  us 
by  profound  study  and  prayer  to  reproduce  from  the  gospel  a 
true  picture  of  the  Apostolic  Missionary.     You  m^ay  study 
that  picture  to-day  as  it  stands  portrayed  in  his  printed  dis- 
course.    It  is  magnificent,  eloquent  in  the  highest  degree,  and 
yet  I  do  not  think  any  one  reading  it  now  can  say  that  it  is 
overdrawn  or  false  to  the  original.      And  yet  you  know,  if  you 
have  read  the  story,  what  a  tumult  it  created  when  delivered, 


1 8  INTR  OD  UCTION. 

because  doubtless  of  the  startling  contrast  it  suggested  between 
the  ancient  and  the  modern  policy  and  methods  of  missionary 
labor.  He  was  addressing  a  society  that  a  little  before  had 
greeted  with  applause  the  declaration  of  a  speaker  who  had 
said,  "  If  I  were  asked  what  is  the  first  qualification  for  a  mis- 
sionary, I  would  say  prudence,  and  the  second  prudence,  and 
the  third  prudence."  What  wonder  that  when  the  picture  of 
the  Apostolic  Missionary  was  produced,  the  man  of  sublime 
and  dominant  faith,  "the  man  without  a  purse,  without  a 
scrip,  without  a  change  of  raiment;  without  a  staff,  without  the 
care  of  making  friends  or  keeping  friends,  without  the  hope 
or  desire  of  worldly  gain,  without  the  apprehension  of  worldly 
loss,  without  the  care  of  life,  without  the  fear  of  death,  of  no 
rank,  of  no  country,  of  no  condition,  a  man  of  one  thought, 
the  gospel  of  Christ,  a  man  of  one  purpose,  the  glory  of  God, 
a  fool,  and  content  to  be  reckoned  a  fool  for  Christ,  a  mad- 
man, and  content  to  be  reckoned  a  madman  for  Christ" — - 
what  wonder  that  such  a  picture  of  self-abandoning  and  sub- 
limely imprudent  faith  should  have  startled,  and  surprised,  and 
annoyed  those  to  whom  prudence  seemed  the  cardinal  virtue 
in  a  missionary's  character. 

But  if  such  a  picture  could  offend,  how  with  a  living  re- 
production of  the  original  suddenly  presenting  himself  to  the 
average,  worldly,  and  easy-going  Christian?  I  believe  hun- 
dreds who  knew  my  missionary  friend,  Mr.  Vassar,  would  say 
that  he  filled  out  every  line  and  shade  of  Irving's  glowing 
portrait  of  "  the  Missionary  after  the  Apostolic  School."  I 
cannot  think  of  one  particular  in  which  he  came  short  of  it. 
Well,  he  did  rouse  a  commotion  wherever  he  went :  and  the 
writer  whom  I  have  previously  quoted,  says  truly,  that  "  his 
most  vehement  opposition  came  from  the  class  represented 
by  the   elder  brother  in  the  parable  of  the  Prodigal   Son." 


INTR  OD  UCTION.  i  g 

The  respectable,  moderate,  prudential  Christian,  whose  chief 
concern  is  that  the  rehgious  proprieties  be  not  jostled,  was 
stunned  and  confounded  by  his  impetuous  zeal.  The  dweller- 
at-ease  in  Zion  was  indignant  at  the  wanton  invasion  of  his 
comfort  which  this  "hot  gospeller"  brought.  "Yes,  we 
would  gladly  see  men  converted,"  they  would  say,  "  but  this 
highly  wrought  fanaticism,  this  press-gang  method  of  forcing 
men  into  the  army  of  Christ  we  cannot  endure."  And  so 
would  come  charges  of  insanity  made  to  the  face,  the  old 
clamor,  "  Thou  art  beside  thyself."  The  minister  who  was 
harboring  this  disturber  was  often  warned  to  send  him  away 
lest  the  church  might  be  driven  to  mutiny.  And  thus  as  he 
illustrated  marvellously  one  part  of  Scripture,  "the  zeal  of 
thy  house  hath  eaten  me  up,"  he  received  the  literal  fulfil- 
ment of  the  other  part,  "  the  reproaches  of  them  that  reproach- 
ed thee  are  fallen  on  me." 

And  yet  he  did  nothing  to  awaken  such  opposition  except 
to  show  himself  inordinately  zealous  for  men's  salvation.  He 
was  just  what  the  Bible  commands,  "  instant  in  season,  out  ojf 
season,"  or,  as  one  has  well  translated  the  words,  "  unsea- 
sonably  in  season."  What  others  do  measuredly,  he  did  with 
all  the  energy  and  intensity  of  an  undivided  heart.  His  re- 
proach,  therefore,  was  justly  earned.  It  was  not  the  dislike  ot 
methods,  or  of  the  man,  but  "  the  reproach  of  Christ,"  which 
niay  still  be  esteemed  greater  riches  than  the  treasures  ot 
Egypt.  The  gospel  has  a  phrase  which  we  dare  say  is  not 
entirely  of  primitive  application—"  the  offence  of  the  cross." 
It  is  not  the  preaching  of  the  law  with  its  unsparing  penalties. 
or  of  the  terror  of  the  Lord  with  its  lurid  threatenings,  that  will 
be  most  likely  to  repel  men,  but  the  preaching  of  the  cross. 
Free  grace  is  a  greater  scandal  in  the  eyes  of  the  moralist  and 
the  formalist,  than  rigid  and  exacting  law.    And  so  inevitable 


2  o  INTi^  OD  UCTIOX. 

from  the  nature  of  the  case  is  the  offence  of  the  cross,  that 
it  seems  to  me  that  any  ministry  which  is  not  to  some  extent 
stamped  with  the  seal  and  credential  of  reproach  cannot  be 
true.  And  just  as  the  power  of  the  cross  is  exhibited  in  this 
life  in  a  self-denying  earnestness  in  saving  the  lost  and  a  Christ- 
like  surrender  of  all  earthly  things  for  the  accomplishment  of 
the  one  end,  there  will  likely  be  reproach.  It  v/ill  come  from 
the  unconverted,  and  most  certainly  from  the  formalist  within 
the  church.  For  their  lives  being  pitched  to  no  such  lofty 
key,  they  will  not  comprehend  one  who  is  so  keyed.  It  is  the 
opprobrium  of  invidious  contrast.  It  is  the  annoying  and 
startling  rebuke,  which  absolute  consecration  must  inevitably 
cast  upon  a  worldly  and  self-indulgent  Christianity. 

But  when  we  have  witnessed  such  a  life,  what  a  charm  it 
must  have  for  every  one  that  values  the  heavenly  world  above 
the  earthly,  and  has  more  respect  to  the  recompense  of  reward 
which  Christ  offers  than  to  anything  which  the  world  can 
give.  It  is  not  poetry  ;  it  is  not  romance.  It  has  been  proved 
in  a  practical,  real  life,  lived  among  us,  that  one  may  take 
joyfully  rejection,  dislike,  and  contempt,  who  has  the  testi- 
mony that  he  is  pleasing  God.  What  matters  it  to  him  if  he 
is  deemed  eccentric,  if  he  knows  himself  to  be  moving  in  the 
orbit  which  Christ  by  his  own  life  and  command  has  fixed  for 
him.  All  that  are  out  of  that  orbit  will  wonder,  some  with 
great  admiration,  and  many  with  great  perplexity.  This  will 
be  the  inevitable  fact. 

"  He  who  far  off  beholds  another  dancing, 
Even  he  who  dances  best,  and  all  the  time 
Hears  not  the  music  that  he  dances  to, 
Thinks  him  a  madman,  apprehending  not 
The  law  which  moves  his  else  eccentric  motion ; 
So  he  that 's  in  himself  insensible 
Of  love's  sweet  influence,  misjudges  him 
Who  moves  according  to  love's  melody. 


INTHOD  UCriON,  2 1 

And  knowing  not  that  all  these  sighs  and  tears 

Kjaculations  and  impatiences, 

Are  necessary  changes  of  a  measure 

Which  the  Divine  Musician  plays,  may  call 

The  lover  crazy — which  he  would  not  do, 

Did  he  within  his  own  heart  hear  the  tune 

Played  by  the  great  Musician  of  the  world." 

I  have  thus  sketched  this  life,  wishing  that  I  might  by  my 
description  of  it  produce  on  others  something  of  the  impres- 
sion which  the  reahty  made  on  my  own  mind.  I  can  truly 
say  that  I  never  received  such  quickening  and  inspiration 
from  any  living  person.  And  though  I  cannot  follow  his 
steps,  I  trace  those  steps  with  the  intensest  admiration.  A 
life  so  absolutely  given  up  to  God  that  I  believe  it  would  have 
been  literally  impossible  to  have  given  any  more  :  communion 
with  God  so  unbroken  that  it  may  be  justly  said  that  the  lan- 
guage of  earth,  its  chatter,  its  frivolity,  its  idle  speaking,  was 
a  foreign  speech  to  him,  while  the  language  of  heaven  was  his 
true  "  mother  tongue." — However  far  we  may  confess  our- 
selves removed  from  it,  we  shall  all  doubtless  be  ready  to  say 
that  it  IS  supremely  blessed  to  live  such  a  life :  the  body, 
the  soul  and  spirit  all  given  up  to  God,  to  win  souls  to  Christ 
an  over-mastering  passion,  all  that  earth  can  offer  of  joy  or 
contempt  but  dust  in  the  balance,  compared  with  the  far  more 
exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory.  Such  we  believe  to  be 
a  true  picture  of  this  noble  life.  If  the  volume  now  sent 
forth  shall  be  used  of  God  to  quicken  the  halting  steps  of  any 
sluggish  Christian,  to  kindle  fresh  inspiration  in  the  bosom  of 
any  already  zealous  and  earnest  Christian,  or  to  give  new 
courage  to  any  fainting  Christian,  it  will  have  served  the  end 
of  its  publication.  A.  j.  g. 

Clarendon  Street  Church,  Boston,  Mass., 
2 


•'^hcy  that  be  Wi6c  6hall  6hinc  a6  the  brightne66 
of  the  firmament ;  and  they  that  turn  many  to  right- 
cou6ne66  a6  the  6tar^  for  ever  and  ever."      daniel  12:3. 


BIRTH-PI^ACE 


UNCLE  JOHN  VASSAR 


CHAPTER    I. 

THE    RECRUIT. 

"  I  praise  Thee,  while  Thy  providence 
In  childhood's  home  I  trace, 
For  blessings  given  ere  dawning  sense 
Could  seek  or  scan  Thy  grace." 

Who  John  E.  Vassar  was,  and  what,  thousands  knew, 
and  they  will  not  be  likely  quickly  to  forget.  Whence  he 
came,  and  what  were  the  moulding  influences  of  early 
days,  are  less  familiar  facts,  which  it  may  be  well  to  trace 
and  briefly  tell.  In  character,  as  in  creation,  what  is 
visible  is  often  the  effect  of  causes  working  and  shaping 
far  away. 

The  Vassar  family  was  French.  About  the  beginning 
of  the  eighteenth  century  some  of  its  members  crossed 
the  English  Channel,  and  in  the  rich  agricultural  county 
of  Norfolk  found  a  home.  Here  at  wool-growing  and 
farming  three  generations  lived,  and  mainly  died.  Here 
Thomas  Vassar,  the  father  of  John  E.,  was  born,  and 
spent  nearly  forty  years. 

But  he  and  his  brothers  were  Dissenters,  of  the  Bap- 


2  4  UNCLE  JOHN  VASSAR. 

tist  faith,  and  like  other  nonconformists  winced  under 
the  oppressions  and  exactions  and  disabilities  imposed  by 
the  wedded  Church  and  State.  Hundreds  whose  love  of 
native  land  was  sincere  and  fervent  were  driven  abroad, 
to  gain  the  religious  liberty  which  a  country  made  cruel 
by  its  fears  denied. 

It  was  in  this  exodus  that  Thomas  Vassar,  then  un- 
married, and  his  younger  brother  James — the  father  of 
Matthew — started  across  the  Atlantic,  not  so  much  in 
quest  of  fame  or  fortune  as  "  freedom  to  worship  God." 

One  October  day  of  1796  the  good  ship  "  Criterion," 
with  the  emigrants  on  board,  sailed  up  New  York  Bay. 
The  following  spring  they  settled  near  Poughkeepsie  on 
the  Hudson,  then  a  village  of  some  four  or  five  hundred 
souls.  For  some  time  the  brothers  carried  on  farming 
operations  together,  Thomas  meanwhile  returning  to 
their  native  land  for  implements  and  seeds.  Several 
years  later  he  established  the  well-known  brickyard  on 
the  Dutchess  Turnpike,  a  mile  or  two  out  of  town. 

He  had  previously  married  Joanna  Ellison  of  Flat- 
bush,  Long  Island,  whose  father  kept  a  somewhat  noted 
academy  there.  The  wife  was  by  twenty  years  the  hus- 
band's junior,  and  one  of  those  unselfish  souls  whose  life, 
spent  in  bearing  others'  burdens,  is  in  the  home  or  the 
community  a  benediction.  Letters  written  by  her  when 
she  was  seventy-five  years  of  age  are  models  of  penman- 
ship and  good  terse  English,  and  reveal  a  heart  as  tender 
as  a  child's. 

The  husband  was  a  sunny,  cheery,  lively  man,  full  of 
pleasant  stories  picked  up  beyond  the  sea,  fuller  still  of 


THE  RECRUIT. 


25 


Scripture,  which  seemed  to  be  always  dropping  from  his 
lips,  busy  as  a  bee,  honest  to  the  core,  ready  for  every 
neighborly  act  or  office,  and  never  happier  than  when, 
with  children  or  grandchildren  on  his  knee,  he  talked  of 
the  dear  old  home  beyond  the  deep,  or  the  one  holier  and 
fairer  far,  eternal  in  the  heavens.  To  their  memory  he 
stands  out  still  as  one  who  needed  to  lay  little  off  to  fit 
him  for  companionship  with  the  saints  in  light.  From 
his  nineteenth  to  his  ninety-third  year  he  walked  with 
God,  and  then,  while  his  hands  were  uplifted  in  blessing 
and  on  his  lips  lingered  some  of  the  great  apostle's  sweet- 
est words,  he  found  himself  suddenly  and  safely  landed 
on  the  shores  of  immortality. 

Of  these  parents,  John  Ellison  Vassar,  the  fourth 
child  in  a  family  of  six,  was  born  on  the  13th  day  of  Jan- 
uary, 1813.  He  was  named  after  Dr.  John  Ellison,  his 
mother's  only  brother,  who,  after  studying  medicine 
abroad,  settled  near  Paris,  practised  successfully  at  his 
profession,  and  died  there  while  his  namesake  was  yet 
young. 

The  earlier  years  of  childhood  are  commonly  like  the 
leaves  which,  left  blank,  are  bound  up  next  to  the  covers 
of  a  book.  They  may  not  be  absolutely  characterless, 
but  little  is  stamped  thereon  which  can  afterward  be 
read.  Of  the  boy  John  Vassar,  not  much  can  be  remem- 
bered now.  He  was  wide-awake,  impulsive,  affection- 
ate, quick-tempered,  and  rapidly  despatched  what  was 
given  him  to  do.  All  this  those  who  knew  him  say. 
Had  they  not  said  it,  so  much  might  have  been  inferred. 
Nature  never  pieces  together  contradictions.      Out  of  a 


26  UNCLE  JOHN  VASSAR. 

calm,  cool,  easy-going  boy  your  man  of  red-hot  earnest- 
ness cannot  come. 

The  lad  had  for  three  winters  the  advantages  of  an 
ordinary  district  school.  These  did  not  amount  to  much 
in  those  days.  The  father  and  mother,  both  of  whom 
were  better  educated  than  the  average  teacher  then,  di- 
rected some  further  studies  in  the  home.  He  was  not  a 
remarkable  scholar,  however,  and  it  is  doubtful  whether 
he  would  have  been  even  with  larger  opportunities.  He 
had  a  bright,  active  mind,  but  patient,  rigid  application  to 
books  would  never  have  suited  him  so  well  as  hard,  heavy 
work.  To  that  he  early  bent  his  back.  At  twelve  years 
old  he  is  in  the  brickyard.  His  body  is  little,  but  it  is 
sturdy,  and  his  spirit  is  plucky  ;  so  while  scarcely  more 
than  a  child  he  is  said  to  have  filled  a  man's  place.  While 
thus  employed,  and  somewhere  about  his  twentieth  year, 
an  accident  befell  him,  from  the  effects  of  which  he  was 
never  altogether  free.  In  hurrying  across  a  rude  log- 
bridge  which  spanned  a  creek  near  the  house,  one  leg 
somehow  slipped  through,  and  was  so  badly  broken  as  to 
leave  him  thereafter  with  a  limping  limb. 

Laid  aside  for  many  weeks,  it  was  the  hope  and 
prayer  of  his  parents  that  the  misfortune  might  bring 
seriousness  and  salvation  to  their  child.  But  trouble 
does  not  always  work  that  way.  It  is  one  thing  to  worry 
over  calamity ;  it  is  another  to  weep  over  sin — how  far 
another  many  a  soul  could  testify.  Recovery  came,  but 
not  conversion.  The  ripple  of  uneasiness  settled  down. 
The  old  life  of  profanity  and  prayerlessness  came  rushing 
back,  and  along  the  old  channels  it  pushed  its  way.    God 


"THE   RECRUIT" 


THE  RECRUIT.  27 

was  forgotten.     Eternity  faded  from  the  thoughts  like  a 
passing  dream. 

So  time  ran  on  till  he  had  begun  his  twenty-fifth  year. 
Then  he  married,  and  moving  into  Poughkeepsie  com- 
menced housekeeping,  and  working  in  the  malt-house  or 
brewery  there.  The  wife  chosen  was  one  Mary  Lee. 
Like  himself,  she  had  been  blest  with  praying  parents. 
Like  him,  she  had  not  yet  learned  to  pray.  He  is  now 
started  out  in  life.  His  home  is  pleasant ;  his  health  is 
perfect ;  his  prospects  fair.  What  more  can  be  asked  .^ 
Nothing,  if  this  world  were  all.  Nothing,  if  there  were 
not  a  soul  which  came  from  God,  and  can  never  rest  till 
it  comes  to  God  again.  So  far  John  Vassar  has  kept 
himself  an  alien  from  the  commonwealth  of  Israel.  He 
stands  on  the  side  that  is  not  the  Lord's.  And  he  tries, 
as  many  are  trying  still,  to  be  happy  there.  But  this 
smooth  complacency  or  self-satisfaction  is  about  to  be 
broken  up.  Infinite  Love  will  not  suffer  a  soul  to  con- 
tent itself  always  with  the  getting  and  keeping  and  mind- 
ing of  earthly  things.  The  time  has  come  for  him  to  lis- 
ten to  God's  call  and  throw  himself  entirely  and  eternally 
into  the  Saviour's  ranks. 

To  this  we  pass.     So  far  we  have  seen  the  stuff  of 
which  the  recruit  was  made. 


CHAPTER   II. 

MUSTERED   IN. 

"And  the  angels  echoed  around  the  throne, 
*  Rejoice,  for  the  Lord  brings  back  his  own.' " 

Some  incidents  of  childhood  are  cut  into  memory  as 
inscriptions  are  cut  into  rock.  No  lapse  of  time  wears 
them  out,  or  tones  down  the  sharp  deep  lines.  One  such 
is  associated  with  the  conversion  of  Uncle  John.  He 
had  come  out  to  see  his  parents  and  tell  them  what  a 
Saviour  he  had  found.  We  were  at  grandfather's  when 
he  arrived.  What  he  said  we  were  too  young  to  under- 
stand, and  not  one  utterance  can  now  be  recalled  ;  but 
the  recollection  of  the  scene  that  followed  is  perfectly 
distinct.  All  wept  while  his  story  was  being  told.  Pres- 
ently they  knelt  around  the  room,  and  two  or  three  offer- 
ed prayer.  In  the  old  homestead  there  was  a  holy  quiet 
joy  all  day  long.  It  was  the  history  of  the  prodigal  gone 
through  again.  Another  runaway  had  come  to  himself 
and  had  returned  to  the  Father's  house,  and  under  the 
earthly  father's  roof  there  was  gladness  devout  and  deep. 
Shall  we  doubt  that  it  was  the  echo  of  a  delight  felt  in 
, heaven  over  the  repenting  sinner.'* 

Uncle  John's  awakening,  like  everything  about  the 
man,  was  extraordinary.  It  is  doubtful  whether  John 
Bunyan's  or  John  Newton's  was  more  powerful  or  pro- 
found.    In  the  Baptist  church  a  revival  was  in  progress, 


MUSTERED  IN.  29 

and  early  morning  meetings  as  well  as  evening  services 
were  being  held.  He  was  urged  to  attend  tliese,  but 
in  the  most  decided  way  refused.  Finally  his  cousin, 
Matthew  Vassar,  Jr.,  fairly  hired  him  to  go  "just  once." 
He  went,  and  readily  promised  to  do  the  same  again 
without  reward.  Before  the  second  service  was  over, 
conviction  deep  and  terrible  took  possession  of  his  soul. 
For  a  week  he  was  shaken  by  the  powers  of  the  world  to 
come  as  trees  are  shaken  by  mighty  winds.  Say  what 
we  will  about  what  old  divines  were  wont  to  call  "  law 
work"  in  regeneration,  John  Vassar  quivered  and  strug- 
gled for  days  in  its  stern  grasp.  Sin  and  the  woe  it  mer- 
its were  awfully  real  to  him— so  real,  that  on  going  home 
from  one  of  the  meetings  and  finding  his  wife  asleep,  he 
roused  her  with  the  cry,  "  How  can  you  rest  when  your 
husband  is  going  right  down  to  hell  ?" 

It  was  not  the  record  of  a  profligate  career  which 
stirred  shame  and  fear  and  pain.  He  had  a  fiery,  ungov^ 
ernable  temper,  and  had  been  given  to  terrible  outbursts 
of  profanity  when  provoked,  but  from  other  gross  forms 
of  wickedness  he  had  been  free.  It  was  the  conscious- 
ness of  a  state  of  heart  radically  wrong  that  lay  at  the 
bottom  of  his  self-abhorrence  and  alarm  ;  the  persuasion 
that  outside  decency  was  not  the  holiness  of  God.  The 
Holy  Spirit  was  dealing  with  him,  and  hence  he  quailed. 
And  when  peace  and  pardon  broke  in,  they  did  not  come 
as  the  dawn  of  day.  It  was  rather  as  if  noonday  sunshine 
were  to  flash  out  in  the  murky  night.  He  obtained  an 
assurance  of  sonship  so  bright  and  clear  that  nothing 
afterward  darkened  it  for  an  hour. 
2* 


30  UNCLE  JOHN  VASSAR. 

In  part,  perhaps,  such  an  experience  would  be  natu- 
ral to  a  temperament  keyed  so  high.  There  could  be  no 
halfway  emotion  about  the  man,  any  more  than  there 
could  be  halfway  work.  Halfness  went  against  the  grain. 
But  it  was  something  more  than  mere  natural  intensity 
which  glowed  in  his  face  and  throbbed  in  the  testimony 
of  his  tongue.  There  was  a  life  hidden  with  Christ 
whose  pulsations,  at  the  first,  as  ever  afterward,  were 
strong  as  ocean's  undertow.  Let  this  account  for  those 
positive  ideas  he  held  and  urged  concerning  the  doctrine 
of  a  new  birth.  Conversion  was  to  him  something  defi- 
nite and  discernible.  It  was  not  a  maybe  and  maybe- 
not  change.  There  was  in  his  sight  a  line  where  liv- 
ing for  self  and  Satan  ceased,  and  living  for  God  and 
godliness  began  ;  and  that  line  he  looked  upon  as  sharp- 
ly drawn.  He  could  not  have  regarded  it  otherwise. 
Divine  grace  had  stopped  him  as  that  light  from  heaven 
stopped  Saul  of  Tarsus,  and  as  suddenly  and  as  squarely 
he  had  turned  around.  Christ's  image  had  been  stamped 
upon  his  soul  as  the  eagle  is  stamped  on  the  bit  of  gold 
under  the  die  of  the  mint ;  and  whose  he  was,  or  what,  he 
could  not  allow  himself  to  question.  That  had  been  once 
and  for  ever  settled.  He  was  'twenty-eight  years  old 
when  he  thus  found  the  Lord  ;  rather  let  us  say,  when 
the  Lord  thus  found  him.  It  is  the  Saviour  who  is  the 
chief  seeker,  and  not  the  sinner. 

Like  every  consistent  convert  he  turned  to  the  people 
of  God  and  asked  among  them  a  brother's  place.  On 
the  3d  of  April,  1842,  he  was  welcomed  into  the  fellow- 
ship of  the  Poughkeepsie  Baptist  church.      Rev.  Rufus 


"THE   LAFAYETTE   STREET   HOUSE' 


MUSTERED  EV,  31 

Babcock,  D.  D.,  who  thus  became  his  pastor,  and  was  for 
many  years  his  counseller  and  guide,  could  have  told  us 
much  about  the  beginnings  of  this  Christian  life,  had  he 
been  a  little  longer  spared  ;  but  the  venerated  pastor 
reached  the  goal  slightly  ahead  of  his  younger  brother. 

Rev.  Edgar  A.  Van  Kleek  of  Patten,  Maine,  for  many 
years  a  most  cherished  friend,  and  at  the  time  of  Uncle 
John's  conversion  himself  a  new  recruit  in  the  army  of 
the  Lord,  gives  us  this  glimpse  of  the  man  when  as  a 
rebel  against  God  he  was  brought  to  lay  down  his  arms : 
"  I  well  remember  the  night  when  he  was  in  such  distress 
of  mind,  though  I  was  only  a  child  in  the  Christian  life 
then.  The  meeting  was  in  the  little  prayer-room  of  the 
La  Fayette  street  house,  and  as  many  were  interested  it 
was  filled.  I  sat  next  to  him  in  the  first  seat  as  you  en- 
tered from  the  door.  I  never  saw  a  soul  in  such  agony 
as  he.  The  service  closed  and  most  of  the  congregation 
had  retired.  As  a  few  were  lingering,  he  begged  them 
not  to  go  but  to  stop  longer  and  pray  for  him.  He  said 
he  could  not  go  out  of  the  room  till  forgiveness  had  been 
spoken  and  peace  had  come.  A  half  dozen  of  us  remain- 
ed and  prayed  that  mercy  might  be  extended  and  his 
burden  lifted  off.  Then  he  broke  out  into  petitions  for 
himself,  and  such  begging  for  salvation  I  never  heard 
from  the  lips  of  any  other  penitent.  Dr.  Babcock  stopped 
with  us  and  tried  to  point  out  Christ.  He  was  more  calm 
before  we  separated,  but  not  by  any  means  at  rest.  The 
next  night,  however,  he  was  rejoicing  in  a  Saviour's  par- 
doning love.  There  was  rapture  on  his  face,  there  was 
glory  in  his  soul.      There  was  glory  in  that  old  prayer- 


32  UNCLE  JOHN  VASSAR. 

room,  too,  as  he  told  us  that  evening  of  God's  own  peace 
and  the  preciousness  of  Jesus. 

"After  this  a  number  of  us  were  returning  from  a 
neighborhood  meeting  one  night  where  the  interest  had 
been  very  deep,  and  we  were  all  so  full  of  joy  that  some 
began  to  sing  along  the  street  as  we  went  toward  home. 
This  rather  unusual  manifestation  of  enthusiasm  called 
out  the  remark  that  people  would  think  us  crazy  if  we  did 
not  keep  more  still ;  whereupon  Brother  Vassar — the 
child  in  grace  father  of  the  man — at  once  replied, '  Let 
them  think  so  ;  they  said  the  blessed  Jesus  had  a  devil' " 

So  we  behold  Uncle  John  enlisted  for  the  good  fight 
of  faith.  How  splendidly  he  fought  it  we  shall  see  fur- 
ther along.  How  to  fight  it  he  is  now  to  learn.  Years 
are  to  be  spent  in  the  drill-room  now. 

But  he  has  been  mustered  in. 


CHAPTER   III. 

THE   DRILL. 

"  Each  of  God's  soldiers  bears 
A  sword  divine  ; 
Stretch  out  thy  trembling  hands 
To-day  for  thine." 

Arms  and  armor  are  all-important  in  secular  and  sa- 
cred warfare,  but  how  to  wield  the  one  and  wear  the  other 
must  be  learned.  The  God  of  battles  seldom  makes  a 
raw  soldier  into  a  great  leader  all  at  once.  Moses  tarries 
in  Horeb,  and  Elijah  in  the  desert,  and  Paul  in  Arabia, 
to  get  a  preparation  for  their  work  ;  and  with  forty  days 
in  the  wilderness  even  our  Lord's  ministry  begins.  The 
man  we  are  following  here  was  girded  and  disciplined  in 
various  ways.  For  these  experiences  eight  years  will  be 
none  too  long. 

Naturally  enough  his  voice  was  quickly  heard  in  the 
social  meetings  of  the  church.  But  he  was  a  novice  in 
religious  things,  and  needed  instruction  especially  in  the 
word  of  God.  Probably  he  was  more  ignorant  of  even 
the  letter  of  Scripture  than  many  a  half-grown  boy  to-day. 
He  had  not  been  a  member  of  the  Sunday-school,  nor  a 
regular  church  attendant  by  any  means,  and  little  of  Bible 
truth  lay  in  his  mind  excepting  such  scraps  and  fragments 
as  home-training  might  have  fastened  there.  This  defi- 
ciency he  sought,  far  and  fast  as  possible,  to  supply.    In 


34  UNCLE  JOHN  VASSAR. 

the  brewery  where  he  was  employed,  he  would  write  down 
on  the  walls  in  the  morning  two  or  three  short  texts  to 
be  committed  and  thought  over  while  at  his  tasks.  On 
a  shelf  near  by,  or  else  in  his  pocket,  was  kept  a  small 
Bible,  and  when  there  was  an  unoccupied  moment  that 
would  be  in  his  hands.  Evenings,  when  no  religious  ser- 
vice claimed  his  time,  over  that  same  book  he  would  bend 
for  hours,  som.etimes  on  his  knees.  Thus  little  by  little 
he  acquired  that  familiarity  with  the  written  word  which 
he  afterward  displayed.  Many  a  reader  of  this  page  will 
recall  instances  where  he  foiled  opposers  and  silenced 
cavillers,  as  his  Master  did  the  tempter  on  the  mountain, 
by  quotations  apt  and  irresistible. 

No  talent  lent  him  was  allowed  to  rust  from  disuse. 
Fast  as  he  received  he  gave.  He  believed  it  as  wrong  to 
hoard  grace  as  gold.  Comm.union  with  Christ  v/as  only  a 
holy  portal  through  which  to  pass  to  the  help  of  man.  He 
began  to  talk  with  individuals  about  their  hope;  not  so 
pointedly  or  skilfully  as  in  later  years,  for  tact  and  fidelity 
such  as  characterized  him  must  partly  be  acquired.  But 
from  the  start  no  one  spent  half  an  hour  in  his  presence 
without  being  made  to  feel  that  with  John  Vassar  reli- 
gion was  a  real  thing.  In  the  prayer  circle  and  in  revi- 
val services  he  became  a  power.  In  the  schoolhouses 
out  of  town,  where  meetings  were  often  held,  his  help 
was  sought.  One  such  visit  of  his  comes  up  as  we  write. 
It  probably  occurred  a  year  or  two  after  his  conversion. 
It  was  a  cold  winter  night,  and  the  little  old  schoolhouse 
on  the  hill  was  packed.  The  Spirit  of  God  was  working 
in  the  district,  and  many  were  inquiring  or  rejoicing  in  a 


THE  DRILL.  35 

good  hope.     Others  were  ill  at  ease.    Uncle  John  was  at 

home  in  such  a  place  ;  especially  at  home  on  that  panic* 

iilar  spot  and  amid  the  group  gathered  there.     On  these 

very  benches  he  sat  in  boyhood,  and  some  of  these  fathers 

and  mothers  were  then  by  his  side.    The  exercises  of  the 

hour  have  faded  from  our  mind,  but  one  association  of  the 

night  remains.     When  the  people  had  started  homeward 

along  the  roads  or  across  the  fields,  out  came  ringing  one 

of  the  melodies  of  those  days.     Uncle  John  was  leading 

in  the  hymn,  and  half  a  dozen  others  were  joining  in, 

and  though  they  were  probably  half  a  mile  away,  every 

word  reported  itself  on  the  keen  frosty  air.      Some  who 

stopped  to  listen  thought  the  strains  almost  sweet  enough 

to  be  the  echoes  of  celestial  songs.     Let  the  worldling 

sneer  or  the  skeptic  smile  at  the  mention  of  such  scenes 

and  seasons,  but  we  will  remember  the  years  of  the  right 

hand  of  the  Most  High. 

But  there  were  to  enter  into  the  drill  of  the  soldier 

experiences  of  a  sterner  kind.     If  there  is  a  land  of  Beu- 

lah  for  the  Christian  to  pass  through,  there  is  a  valley  of 

Baca  too.     Uncle  John  is  to  see  a  happy  home  break  up, 

its  lights  one  by  one  go  out,  its  members  pass  away,  till 

he  is  left  utterly  alone.     He  is  to  say  like  many  another. 

"  And  lonely  rooms  and  suffering  beds, 
These  for  my  training-place  were  given." 

Two  boys,  with  the  wife,  made  up  his  household.  The 
younger  sickened  first.  He  died  in  September,  1847. 
The  elder,  a  lad  of  nine  years,  an  uncommonly  bright  and 
interesting  child,  was  taken  the  following  autumn,  after 
an  illness  of  but  a  few  hours.     He  breathed  his  last  in 


36  UNCLE  JOHN  VASSAR. 

parental  arms,  whispering  the  dear  Lord's  words,  "  Suf- 
fer the  little  children  to  come  unto  me." 

Under  these  repeated  strokes  the  wife  and  mother, 
never  strong,  gave  way.      A  year  of  weary  wasting  and 
patient  suffering  followed,  and  then,  in  November  of  1849, 
she  found  the  rest  remaining  to  the  people  of  God.    That 
cheerless  autumn  night  was  the  only  time  when  we  ever 
saw  Uncle  John  even  momentarily  cast  down.     Then  for 
half  an  hour  he  did  lie  down  and  weep  like  a  heart-broken 
child.     Nor  was  it  strange.      Long  watching  had  nearly 
worn  him  out.    Only  four  weeks  previously  he  had  closed 
his  venerable  father's  eyes  for  the  last  long  sleep.      The 
loves  of  earth  had  been  breaking  fast.    But  faith  quickly 
rose  again  and  rejoiced  in  God.     The  eagle  flies  highest 
not  in  serene  but  stormy  skies,  and  the  believer  beats 
heavenward  when  the  hours  are  dark  and  the  tempest 
wild.      The  heart  of  the  lonely  man  recovered  soon  the 
old  peace  and  trust,  and  exulted  in  the  Rock  of  his  salva- 
tion.    Like  the  needle  of  the  mariner,  deflected  for  an 
instant  when  a  storm  first  strikes  the  ship,  but  swinging 
right  and  holding  steady  soon,  the  smitten  soul  turned  to 
its  Stay  and  Rest.     For  those  who  had  gone  it  was  wor- 
ship.    For  the  one  left  it  was  work  yet  for  a  little  while. 
With  soul  new-braced  let  him  go  to  it — new-braced  by 
sorrow  as  well  as  joy  ;  disciplined  by  loss  no  less  than 
gain.     He  was  to  be  a  son   of  consolation  to  many  a 
mourner  in  coming  days.    He  was  to  minister  to  smitten 
spirits  with  a  woman's  tenderness.     He  was  to  look  into 
eyes  dim  with  tears,  and  say,  ''  I  have  been  in  this  very 
pass,  and  know  its  bitterness  and  blessedness." 


THE  DRILL. 


37 


It  is  of  these  days  that  his  then  pastor  and  lifelong 
friend,  Rev.  J.  Hyatt  Smith,  writes:  "Brother  Vassar 
was  a  member  of  my  first  charge,  and  for  many  Sabbaths 
at  the  commencement  of  my  ministry  used  to  help  me 
greatly  by  looking  me  right  in  the  eye.  One  day,  as 
soon  as  I  began  my  sermon,  he  put  his  head  down,  and 
did  not  raise  it  till  the  sermon  was  finished.  What  it 
meant  I  could  not  tell.  This  was  repeated  the  next  Sab- 
bath, and  the  next.  I  asked  then  an  explanation.  He 
replied,  *  Beloved,  I  have  a  better  plan  than  looking  you 
in  the  eye.  I  start  even  with  you,  praying  while  you 
preach  ;  and  to  every  appealing  truth  I  say,  "  Lord,  send 
that  home.  Lord,  send  that  home."  '  He  is  the  only 
man  who  ever  helped  me  by  putting  down  his  head  while 
I  preached.  I  drove  the  nail  with  the  gospel  hammer, 
and  he  clinched  it  with  believing  prayer. 

"  I  shall  ever  remember  how  gently  he  would  criticise 
my  sermons,  and  even  his  rebukes  were  so  pregnant  with 
the  love  of  Jesus  that  I  was  instructed  and  improved 
without  a  hurt. 

"  In  going  out  on  my  first  round  of  parish  calls,  I  was 
told  that  I  would  find  Brother  Vassar  at  the  brewery.  I 
entered  the  building,  and  approaching  him  unobserved, 
saw  a  man  standing  near  a  great  caldron  of  boiling  hops 
with  a  book  in  his  hand.  Looking  over  his  shoulder,  I 
noticed  that  it  was  '  Fox's  Book  of  Martyrs '  that  was 
being  read. 

"  In  going  out  of  the  place  one  of  the  workmen  asked, 
'  Did  you  find  him  V  I  said,  *  Yes.'  *  Well,'  said  he, 
'  there  is  one  spot  in  this  brewery  that  is  better  than  any 


^S  UNCLE  JOHN  VASSAR. 

church  in  Poughkeepsie,  and  that  is  where  that  man 
prays.' 

"  Mrs.  Vassar  was  at  the  point  of  death.  Her  disease 
was  consumption,  and  she  feared  strangulation.  She 
therefore  asked  me  one  day  to  pray  that  she  might  die 
easily.  In  the  sympathy  of  the  moment  I  promised,  but  on 
meeting  Brother  Vassar  in  the  next  room,  I  said  to  him 
that  I  had  made  a  hard  promise.  'Why  T  was  his  reply. 
*  Because  I  have  no  faith,'  was  my  answer ;  '  and  I  have 
no  faith  simply  because  there  is  no  promise.'  *Why,' 
said  he,  speaking  as  a  man  to  a  child  (and  I  was  only  a 
child  in  experience),  '  if  you  were  the  son  of  a  wealthy 
father  who  loved  you,  and  would  never  deny  you  any- 
thing that  was  for  your  real  good,  and  you  needed  a  hun- 
dred dollars,  would  n't  you  say,  I  shall  have  a  hundred 
dollars,  your  faith  springing  from  your  father's  wealth 
and  your  father's  love  i*'  God's  promise  was  deduced 
from  the  knowledge  of  God's  relation  to  the  saint.  In 
that  day  such  a  statement  was  a  revelation  to  me.  We 
went  to  prayer.    Our  prayer  was  answered.    Mrs.  Vassar 

died 

"  '  As  dies  a  wave  along  the  shore.'  " 

Of  this  same  period  Mrs.  R.  A.  Thurston,  of  Pough- 
keepsie, says : 

"  My  acquaintance  with  John  E.  Vassar  began  in  the 
spring  of  1849.  The  first  thing  about  the  man  that  sur- 
prised me  was,  that,  with  his  daily  work  and  the  severe 
sickness  then  existing  in  his  home,  he  was  able  to  do  so 
much  for  Christ  and  for  his  fellow-men.  He  was  a  peace- 
maker, a  comforter,  a  helper  wherever  there  was  need. 


THE  DRILL.  39 

Were  any  cast  down  ?  he  came  with  words  of  hope. 
Were  any  indifferent  ?  so  earnest  and  loving  and  arous- 
ing were  his  words,  that  the  slumbering  started  into 
new  life.  Were  any  sick,  or  anxious  about  salvation  ? 
he  quickly  found  it  out,  and  was  at  their  sides.  In  the 
social  meetings,  he  was  wonderful.  In  remark  or  prayer, 
his  face  seemed  to  glow  as  if  heaven  had  come  down,  his 
soul  and  ours  to  greet.  When  we  heard  his  clear  voice 
leading  in  some  sweet  song  of  Zion,  we  thought  that 
never  before  were  so  many  rich  gifts  and  graces  bestow- 
ed on  a  single  man. 

"I  was  in  the  habit  of  frequently  visiting  his  sick  wife, 
and  often  carried  some  little  delicacy  along.  Tlie 
morning  following  her  death,  unaware  that  the  end  had 
come,  I  went  down  to  the  house  with  a  pitcher  contain- 
ing something  for  her  in  my  hand.  At  the  door  I  met 
Brother  Vassar,  and  asked  him  to  take  in  what  I  had 
brought,  that  I  might  hasten  back.  Clasping  his  hands 
together,  he  said,  *  Bless  the  Lord  !  my  wife  is  in  heaven. 
She  needs  nothing  more.'  I  could  not  understand  then 
how  he  -could  rejoice  while  his  dead  companion  lay  in 
the  still  and  darkened  house,  but  I  understand  it  now. 
He  would  not  be  so  selfish  as  to  let  his  loss  outweigh 
her  gain.  He  would  rather  rejoice  and  give  God  thanks 
that  for  her,  sorrow  and  suffering  were  over,  and  the 
eternal  glory  reached." 

S.  M.  Shaw,  Esq.,  editor  of  the  "  Freeman's  Journal," 
Cooperstown,  N.  Y.,  speaking  of  this  period  in  Uncle 
John's  life,  says : 

"  I  knew  the  late  beloved  John  E.  Vassar  for  several 


40  UNCLE  JOHN  VASSAR, 

years  previous  to  January  i,  1849.  ^^^  ^^^  a  teacher  in 
the  Sabbath-school  which  I  then  superintended,  and  one 
of  the  most  prompt,  faithful,  and  successful. 

"  If  there  was  a  truly  *  holy'  man  in  that  school  or 
church,  he  was  the  one  entitled  to  the  appellation.  He 
showed  his  love  to  God,  not  alone  by  a  consistent  walk, 
but  by  his  true-hearted  and  unselfish  love  and  service  of 
his  fellow-men.  He  was  a  cheerful,  happy  Christian, 
whose  ever-welcome  presence  was  sunshine.  A  cloud 
was  never  seen  upon  his  face  except  when  considering 
another's  trials  or  sufferings,  and  then  he  was  ever  ready 
with  a  word  of  comfort  and  cheer.  In  this  v/orld's 
goods  he  was  poor,  but  his  heart  was  rich  in  love  and 
tenderness.  Of  his  means  he  was  a  cheerful  giver.  To 
his  pastor  he  was  a  devoted  friend,  and  he  was  as  modest 
and  unassuming  as  he  was  good." 

Another  adds  : 

"  Never  did  he  seem  in  the  least  degree  to  lack  the 
spirit  of  devotion,  or  to  be  unready  for  any  Christian 
service.  When  all  around  him  were  cold  he  was  at 
white  heat,  when  others  were  dead,  he  was  full  of  life.  He 
never  came  to  a  meeting  however  flat  and  dull  that  after 
a  little  drooping  of  his  head  in  prayer  he  did  not  lift  and 
thrill.  It  was  marvellous  beyond  expression  how  quickly 
he  could  turn  an  ebbing  tide  to  flood. 

"  He  had  wonderful  gifts,  few  ministers  have  so  much 
natural  ability.  At  times  he  was  truly  eloquent.  His 
experience  was  rich,  his  memory  marvellous,  his  use 
of  language  extraordinary,  his  power  to  rouse  the  people 
seldom  equalled  ;  and  yet  with  all  his  gifts  and  excellen- 


THE  DRILL.  41 

cieshewas  as  humble  as  a  little  child.  He  always  felt 
that  he  was  the  least  of  all  saints,  not  meet  indeed  to  be 
called  a  saint.  He  never  assumed  anything,  distrusted  him- 
self and  was  ever  ready  to  give  the  best  place  to  another. 
He  kept  nothing  back  from  his  loving  Lord.  Whether 
he  sang,  prayed,  or  exhorted,  it  was  all  done  in  the  same 
spirit ;  or  whether  he  ate  or  drank  or  whatever  he  did, 
it  all  was  done  to  the  glory  of  God.  He  would  come  into 
the  meeting,  slip  along  quietly  from  pew  to  pew,  find 
out  every  tender-hearted  one  who  was  seeking  the  Sa- 
viour, and  as  soon  as  there  was  a  lull  in  the  meeting,  he 
would  be  heard  in  prayer  for  the  dear  soul  who  was  kneeling 
at  his  side.  Sometimes  there  would  be  three  or  four  on 
their  knees  before  God,  all  crying  for  mercy  while  he  was 
pleading  so  earnestly  in  his  simple  child-like  faith  that 
God  would  save  them.  Rest  was  a  stranger  to  him 
while  souls  were  around  him  unsaved." 

Thus,  by  fidelity  in  things  at  home,  he  qualified  him- 
self for  other  trusts.  He  did  not  belong  to  that  clique 
of  religious  perambulaters  who  are  more  useful  anywhere 
else  than  in  their  own  homes.  He  took  hold  with  his 
brethren  of  the  nearest  work  he  found  to  do,  and  so  fit- 
ted hi^^self  for  and  grew  into  larger  tasks  and  broader 
spheres. 

Eight  or  nine  years  so  spent  are  sufficient,  and  he 
goes  out  now  to  extensive  and  efficient  service.  He  has 
become  used  to  the  uniform,  and  he  likes  it  well.  He 
has  learned  how  to  handle  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  and 
ward  off  the  assaults  of  Satan  on  his  shield  of  faith.  He 
has  skirmished  with  the  foe,  and  found  out  his  strength. 


42  UNCLE  JOHN  VASSAR, 

His  armor  has  been  burnished  by  affliction  till  it 
shines.  Above  all,  loyalty  to  his  Captain  has  become 
the  passion  of  his  soul.  Now  he  is  looking  for  a  place 
somewhere  in  the  lines.  All  he  asks  is  a  private's  posi- 
tion, and  less  than  a  private's  pay.  He  will  not  be  kept 
looking  long. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

ASSIGNED    TO    SERVICE: 

••  Prepared  the  trumpet's  call  to  greet. 
Soldier  of  Jesus,  stand  ; 
Pilgrim  of  Christ,  with  ready  feet 
Await  thy  Lord's  command." 

Home  relationships  and  responsibilities  are  some- 
times influential  in  keeping  men  in  places  and  at  occu- 
pations for  which  they  feel  a  growing  disrelish  or  dis- 
like. It  was  so  with  Uncle  John.  He  had  been  for 
many  years  employed  in  the  malthouse  and  brewery 
of  **  M.  Vassar  and  Company,"  when  the  light  of  God 
dawned  on  his  soul.  Soon  afterward  he  began  to  feel 
uncomfortable  about  his  position — began  to  question 
whether  the  work  he  was  doing  was  consistent  with  the 
hope  he  cherished,  and  the  profession  he  had  made. 
The  Washingtonian  Reformation,  which  a  little  later 
swept  over  many  portions  of  our  land,  deepened  the  im- 
pression that  as  a  child  of  God  he  ought  to  be  other- 
wise engaged.  Duty,  however,  did  not  at  once  grow 
clear.  With  the  members  of  the  firm,  who  were  his 
cousins,  his  relations  had  been  intimate  and  kind. 
The  temperance  sentiment,  though  it  was  growing 
rapidly,  was  not  then  as  high,  either  in  the  church  or 
out,  as  it  is  to-day.  Then  while  the  subject  was  be- 
ing    pondered,     the    repeated     household     afflictions 


44  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAJi. 

already  noted  fell,  and  they  diverted  attention  from 
this  subject  for  a  time.  Soon  as  he  found  himself 
alone  in  the  world,  however,  the  old  queries  returned. 
What  had  been  only  impressions  heretofore  deepened 
into  convictions  soon,  and  conviction  made  obligation 
plain.  He  left  the  place  he  so  long  had  filled,  whose 
emoluments,  present  and  prospective,  were  far  greater 
than  he  could  hope  elsewhere  to  gain,  and  in  the  spring 
of  1850  found  himself,  for  the  first  time  in  more  than  a 
dozen  years,  unemployed. 

How  God  could  be  glorified  and  his  generation 
served  was  now  the  question  of  the  hour.  The  answer 
quickly  came.  The  American  Tract  Society  of  New 
York  was  pushing  vigorously  the  system  of  colportage 
in  the  West.  The  labors  of  plain,  humble,  but  godly 
and  earnest  men,  several  hundred  of  whom  were  on 
the  field,  were  being  greatly  blest — how  greatly  the 
revealings  of  the  eternal  day  alone  will  tell. 

The  committee  of  the  Society  recognized  in  Uncle 
John  one  suited  to  their  kind  of  work.  They  com- 
missioned him  on  the  15th  day  of  May,  1850.  He 
was  not  promised  anything  like  ease.  "  Roughing  it" 
was  the  order  of  that  day,  and  the  demand.  He  was 
not  promised  very  heavy  pay  in  the  currency  of  earth 
" — a  hundred  and  sixty  dollars  a  year  and  travelling 
expenses  ;  but  he  went  joyfully  to  a  work  that  to  the 
last  was  his  delight.  For  if  ever  mortal  truthfully 
could  say  what  Christ  did,  "  My  meat  is  to  do  the  will 
of  Him  that  sent  me,"  he  was  that  man. 

One  writins:  of  this  time  savs : 


ASSIGNED  TO  SERVICE.  45 

*'  This  was  a  season  of  severe  trial  and  hardship  to 
him  in  some  respects.  He  was  an  exile  from  his  home, 
a  stranger  in  a  rude  country  ;  he  often  passed  his  nights 
in  his  wagon  or  on  the  ground  under  it. 

"  God  went  with  him  over  those  grassy  solitudes,  and 
blessed  his  labors,  and  filled  him  with  joy  and  praise."  At 
times  his  joy  was  so  great  that,  as  he  said,  *  as  the  thought 
of  his  high  calling  took  possession  of  him,  he  could  hard- 
ly retain  his  scat  in  his  wagon.'  "x\s  he  urged  his  way 
over  the  vWde  prairies,  he  felt  that  he  was  the  most  un- 
worthy and  the  most  favored  man  on  the  face  of  the 
earth.     His  heart  was  filled  with  Jesus. 

"  No  portion  of  his  life  was  more  fruitful.  It  was 
then  and  there  that  he  acquired  that  well-nigh  infallible 
skill  in  approaching  men,  that  was  a  perpetual  marvel  to 
all  who  observed  it.  He  learned  hov/  to  tell  by  a  m  n'2 
lock,  or  by  his  first  words,  just  what  Vvas  his  state  of 
mind  toward  religion,  and  how  to  address  him. 

"Every  man  he  met,  he  sought  opportunity  to  inquire 
of  as  to  his  spiritual  state,  and  if  he  was  not  a  Christian  he 
warned  him,  in  the  name  of  Christ,  and  often  with  tears, 
of  the  deceit  and  danger  of  sin,  and  entreated  him  to 
forsake  it  and  turn  to  God,  assuring  him  of  the  blessed- 
ness of  so  doing,  as  he,  out  of  his  own  experience  could  tes- 
tify. He  went  after  men,  and  kept  after  them  with  a  long 
perseverance,  holding  them  in  his  heart  and  m.aking 
mention  of  them  unceasingly  before  God  in  his  prayers, 
and  appearing  to  them  at  intervals,  till  at  last  he  won 
them  to  repentance." 

Up   to  this  date   we  have  had  little  but   scattered 
3 


46  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR, 

recollections  to  put  together.  Henceforth  we  have 
items  in  his  own  letters  and  reports  on  which  to  draw, 
and  so  can  let  the  laborer  himself  tell  something  about 
his  toil. 

His  field  of  operations  for  a  year  or  more  was  the 
northern,  or  north-eastern,  portions  of  Illinois  ;  more 
particularly  the  counties  of  Kane,  Kendall,  De  Kalb, 
and  Boone.  Stopping  in  Chicago  long  enough  to  meet 
some  old  friends,  and  get  a  supply  of  the  Society's 
publications  for  distribution,  he  struck  out  for  the  new 
settlements  a  hundred  miles  beyond.  He  was  now 
thirty-seven  years  old,  had  an  almost  iron  constitution, 
spirits  buoyant  as  a  child's,  an  all-conquering  faith, 
and  a  large  amount  of  good  sturdy  common  sense. 
Add  to  all  this  a  zeal  that  never  flagged,  and  it  will  be 
seen  that  he  went  forth  well  equipped. 

The  summer  was  one  of  burning  drought.  The 
prairies,  which  on  his  arrival  looked  so  fresh  and 
green,  by  July  lay  scorched  and  blasted,  and  men's 
hearts  were  failing  them  for  fear.  As  a  consequence, 
the  books  he  carried  sold  slowly,  and  the  sultry  days 
and  short  nights  of  harvest-time  were  not  favorable  for 
getting  hold  of  the  people,  either  in  their  homes  or 
through  such  evening  meetings  as  were  tried.  He 
says,  however:  "I  expected  difficulties,  and  am  not 
disappointed  in  the  least.  The  Lord  is  a  present  help. 
I  pass  along  the  highways  contented  with  any  fare,  and 
stop  where  the  night  overtakes  me,  witnessing  all  the 
time  to  small  and  great  that  Christ  has  power  to 
save." 


ASSIGNED  TO  SERVICE.  47 

With  the  autumn  and  early  winter  tokens  of  good 
appear.  The  more  driving  labor  of  the  farm  is  done, 
and  in  spite  of  frets  and  fears  crops  are  fair.  He  writes, 
"  I  had  a  most  precious  season  yesterday.  I  find  the 
people  prepared  by  God  to  hear  even  me,  and  have 
been  astonished  to  witness  the  effect  produced  by  a 
mere  exhortation.  Truly  our  Lord  does  work  by  sim- 
ple means."  As  spring  comes  on  the  snow-covered 
prairies  that  he  has  been  tramping  over  glow  reli- 
giously, as  they  do  literally  with  returning  summer. 
Nor  is  it  the  country  neighborhoods  alone  that  feel  the 
tinglings  of  a  new  spiritual  life.  Belvidere,  St. 
Charles,  Elgin,  and  other  towns  in  his  district  feel  the 
kindlings  of  a  sacred  fire.  Along  the  Wisconsin  bor- 
der are  extensive  ingatherings  of  souls.  "  I  have  no 
rest,"  says  the  toiler,  "  night  nor  day." 

And  yet  he  does  not  forget  home  and  friends  amid 
these  joys  and  cares,  for  in  the  letter  quoted  from 
above  he  says  :  "  Oh,  Sister  H.,  I  never  felt  so  much 
for  our  own  church  before.  Do  all  you  can  to  stir  up 
the  brethren.  Warn  them  not  to  sleep  while  the  world 
is  going  so  swiftly  to  ruin.  Do  all  you  can  for  our  dear 
W.  and  H.     We  shall  meet  them  in  eternity  so  soon." 

While  on  this  field  he  makes  a  brief  visit  to  a  fam- 
ily previously  known  in  the  Eastern  States.  The 
home  was  a  Christian  one,  and  the  first  evening  passed 
rapidly  and  pleasantly  in  calling  up  old  times  and 
places.  The  host  spoke  hopefully  of  his  prospects  and 
talked  over  his  plans,  but  made  little  reference  to 
the  subject   uppermost  in    the  mind  of  Uncle  John. 


48  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR. 

Presently  a  good  opportunity  was  given  to  introduce 
the  matter,  and  he  turned  to  it  by  asking  these  old  ac- 
quaintances what  kind  of  neighbors  they  had  found. 
"  Really,"  said  the  lady,  "  I  scarcely  know.  I  am 
intimate  with  almost  none  of  them  ;  and  if  the  truth 
must  be  told,  I  have  not  souq-ht  to  be." 

"  How  long  did  you  say  you  had  been  living  here  ?" 

"  Five  years  next  spring,"  was  the  reply. 

"  Five  years  next  spring  !  Oh,  my  dear  brother 
and  sister,  both  of  you  professors  of  religion  and  yet 
living  here  so  long  without  even  informing  yourselves 
about  the  condition  of  those  nearest  to  your  doors  ! 
What  a  pity  !  what  a  pity  !  What  will  the  Lord  say 
to  you  ?" 

The  man  and  his  wife  looked  at  him.,  looked  at  one 
another,  and  then  looked  down.  Then  as  he  went  on 
to  speak  of  Christian  obligation  both  asked,  "  What 
ought  we  to  have  done  ?  What  could  we  have  done  ?" 
As  past  opportunities  were  clearly  pointed  out,  the 
more  pertinent  query  came  to  their  lips,  **  Well,  how 
can  we  best  take  up  our  neglected  duties  now?" 
Definitely  he  mapped  out  a  plan  of  labor,  and  before 
leaving  besought  them  to  put  it  in  operation  without 
delay. 

Weeks  afterward  he  was  at  their  door  again.  Be- 
fore he  entered,  the  woman  of  the  house  greeted 
him  v/ith  the  exclamation,  **  I  am  so  glad  you  have 
come  !     You  are  just  in  the  right  time." 

He  entered  and  found  several  of  the  neighbors  who 
had  come  together  to  talk  over  measures  eyeing  the  re- 


ASSIGNED  TO  SERVICE.  49 

ligious  welfare  of  the  community.  These  old  friends  of 
his  had  not  been  so  plainly  and  lovingly  dealt  with  in 
vain.  They  had  shown  how  sincerely  they  deplored 
past  unfaithfulness  by  vigorously  taking  hold  of  re- 
sponsibilities which  selfishly  or  indolently  had  been 
shirked.  They  had  scoured  the  region  round  about. 
They  had  ascertained  by  going  from  house  to  house 
how  many  had  once  named  the  name  of  Christ.  These 
had  been  brought  together.  Mutual  confessions  had  been 
made.  Old  covenants  had  been  renewed.  Regular 
meetings  during  the  week  had  been  established.  Oc- 
casional preaching  for  the  Sabbath  had  been  secured. 
A  Sunday-school  had  been  organized,  and  it  was  but  a 
little  time  before  the  habits  of  the  neighborhood  were 
revolutionized. 

How  many  times  he  set  such  a  train  of  influences 
working  only  God  knows.  This  incident  had  alto- 
gether dropped  from  his  mind  till  some  unknown 
friend  put  it  into  a  tract  for  circulation  and  accident- 
ally the  tract  fell  under  his  eye  only  three  or  four  years 
before  he  died. 

In  the  summer  of  185 1  he  comes  East  again,  to  visit 
his  aged  mother,  and  in  the  autumn  he  is  sent  to  Cleve- 
land, Ohio,  a  city  in  which  some  of  his  most  effective 
work  was  done.  This  arrangement  was  effected 
through  his  old  pastor.  Rev.  J.  Hyatt  Smxith,  at  this 
date  prosecuting  a  most  successful  ministry  in  Cleve- 
land. Inclined  always  to  self-depreciation,  Uncle 
John  seems  apprehensive  that  his  style  of  labor  will 
not  be  liked  among  city  circles  and   cultivated   folks. 


50  UNCLE  JOHN   VASSAR, 

He  imagines  the  backwoods  his  sphere.  He  regrets 
that  he  was  not  left  there,  and  makes  the  new  depart- 
ure with  earnest  prayers  for  help.  Soon,  however,  his 
letters  undergo  a  change.  They  take  on  a  more  cheer- 
ful tone.  He  finds  that  human  nature  is  much  the 
same,  whether  in  a  log-cabin  of  one  room  or  a  brown- 
stone  front  on  the  avenue.  Everywhere  he  is  given 
the  most  cordial  welcome.  His  books  sell  as  he  has 
never  seen  them  sell  before.  The  churches  make  most 
generous  collections  for  the  Society,  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Smith's  contributing  six  hundred  dollars  in  two  days. 
Nor  do  they  in  giving  to  the  service  overlook  the  ser- 
vant's wants.  Thus  modestly  he  mentions  a  timely  gift  : 
"  While  writing  the  other  evening  a  gentleman  called 
with  a  bundle,  containing  a  note  from  some  unknown 
friend,  a  very  handsome  overcoat,  and  a  pair  of 
gloves.  The  coat  is  much  too  fine  and  fashionable  for 
me,  but  the  note  says  that  I  must  wear  it,  so  what  else 
can  I  do?"  We  shall  not  misjudge  the  good  man  if 
we  suppose  that  in  the  new  garment  he  felt  more  com- 
fortable in  going  from  house  to  house  than  in  the  old 
one,  which  had  done  prairie  service.  W^hile  his  tastes 
were  plain,  and  fashions  of  little  consequence,  he  liked 
to  be  respectably  attired,  especially  where  a  rusty 
garb  might  excite  prejudice  and  impair  his  usefulness. 
More  gratifying  to  him,  however,  than  personal  at- 
tentions and  generous  collections,  or  large  sales,  was 
the  spiritual  quickening  which  was  enjoyed.  The  de- 
tails are  but  meagrely  given,  the  most  that  he  records 
being  in  these  lines :   "I  visit  frequently  forty  families 


ASSIGNED    TO   SERVICE.  51 

a  day,  have  a  meeting  somewhere  every  night,  and 
speak  to  three  Sunday-schools  where  practicable  every 
Lord's  day.  I  have  conversed  with  over  three  thou- 
sand people  during  the  last  three  months  on  the  sub- 
ject of  personal  religion,  and  feel  that  for  this  city  a 
.  wonderful  blessing  is  in  store." 

Happily  the  facts  and  incidents  of  that  memorable 
winter  can,  in  part  at  least,  be  furnished  by  those  who 
moved  amid  them,  some  of  whom  during  it  felt  the 
Spirit's  touch  unto  eternal  life.  What  one  man  did — • 
rather  what  God  through  him  did — let  these  in  their 
own  v/ay  tell. 

Rev.  George  M.  Stone,  D.D.,  of  Tarrytown,  N.Y., 
thus  writes  :  "  My  first  acquaintance  with  Uncle  John 
was  in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  in  the  year  1852.  He  was 
visiting  from  house  to  house,  and  in  that  portion  of 
the  city  a  remarkable  religious  interest  was  soon  mani- 
fest. I  was  then  an  unconverted  young  man  about 
eighteen  years  of  age,  and  engaged  in  a  printing  office. 
A  companion  in  the  office,  who  had  heard  of  the  elo- 
quence of  Rev.  J.  Hyatt  Smith,  invited  me  to  accom- 
pany him  one  evening  to  the  lecture-room  of  his  church, 
where  meetings  were  being  held.  I  went,  and  was  in- 
terested in  the  preaching.  As  I  arose  to  pass  out, 
after  the  service,  I  was  approached  by  a  person,  then 
a  stranger,  who  asked  with  mingled  earnestness  and 
kindness  if  I  loved  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  He  took 
my  hand  at  the  same  time,  and  held  it  firmly.  I  can 
never  forget  the  intense  sincerity  of  that  first  inter-  ' 
view.     I  felt  in  a  moment  that  I  had  never  before  met 


53  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR. 

a  man  who  possessed  such  a  transcendent  conscious, 
ness  of  divine  things.  That  stranger  was  John  E. 
Vassar,  and  from  that  hour  convictions  began  to  stir 
my  heart  which  in  time  the  Holy  Spirit  used  to  lead 
me  to  Christ. 

"  He  assisted  me  in  religious  meetings  subsequently 
at  Danbury,  Conn.,  and  in  visitations  in  Milwaukee, 
Wisconsin.  In  this  association  with  him  his  experience 
seemed  to  be  a  perpetual  summer  of  Christian  love." 

Hear  again  his  friend  Rev.  J.  Hyatt  Smith  :  "  On 
his  v/ay  to  Illinois  as  a  colporteur  of  the  American 
Tract  Society,  he  surprised  me  by  calling  at  my  house 
one  day.  I  urged  him  to  remain  a  while.  He  refused, 
and  left  that  same  night  on  a  steamer  for  Detroit. 
The  boat  was  so  crowded  that  I  was  afraid  to  have  him 
go  on  board.  I  remember  his  look  as  he  replied,  *  I 
rejoice  that  so  many  are  going.  I  shall  have  a  blessed 
time  working  for  souls.'  Away  he  went  on  an  over- 
loaded steamer  in  a  stormy  night,  and  I  v/ent  to  my 
home  praying  for  him. 

"  Through  my  letters  to  the  Society  he  was  after- 
ward transferred  to  Cleveland,  and  remained  there  six 
months.  The  work  that  he  wrought  for  the  Master  in 
my  church,  to  say  nothing  of  the  abundant  and  effec- 
tive labors  outside  of  m.y  parish,  God  alone  may  esti- 
mate. I  could  fill  pages  with  incidents,  if  the  limits 
of  this  volume  would  permit. 

"  One  day  Brother  Vassar  came  to  me  and  said, 
*  To-morrow  I  am  going  through  Dives  Street  (Euclid 
Street),  and  I  want  3^ou  to  pray  for  me.'     I  promised 


ASSIGNED    TO   SERVICE.  53 

him  I  would,  and  requested  him  to  report  to  me  the 
results  of  his  first  day's  visit  to  the  houses  of  wealth 
on  that  beautiful  avenue.  I  give  a  report  of  his  visit 
to  the  iirst  house  on  his  journey.  At  the  door  of  the 
stately  dwelling  he  met  the  lady  of  the  house.  *  What 
do  you  want,  sir  ?'  she  asked,  as  he  approached  her. 
He  replied,  *  I  am  a  colporteur  for  the  Tract  Society, 
and  ' — pointing  to  his  basket  of  books — '  I  am  selling 
these.'  *  We  have  a  library,'  washer  reply.  *  I  don't 
doubt  it,'  said  Brother  Vassar,  glancing  at  the  build- 
ing ;  'but,'  he  continued,  nothing  daunted  by  the 
rather  sharp  response  of  the  lady,  '  the  truth  is  I  am 
legs  for  Bunyan,  Baxter,  Flavel,  and  others.  They  are 
all  in  the  basket  there.'  The  lady,  evidently  struck 
with  the  appearance  of  the  man  and  the  quaintness  of 
his  address,  asked  him  into  the  parlor.  Having 
stormed  and  carried  the  house,  he  began  an  assault 
upon  the  castle  of  the  heart.  '  I  am  not  only  a  seller 
of  books,  but  I  am  anxious  to  know  if  you  love  Jesus,' 
said  John.  *  I  am  a  member  of  the  church,'  the 
woman  replied.  *  So  am  I,'  said  Brother  Vassar,  *  but 
I  fear  that  God  will  not  take  our  church  records.  He 
counts  the  names  recorded  in  the  Lamb's  Book  of 
Life.'  The  attack  was  fairly  commenced,  and  the 
arrows  of  love  flew  thick  and  fast.  Heart  Castle  sur- 
rendered ;  the  lady  with  tears  exclaimed,  '  I  know  it  is 
not  enough  to  belong  to  a  church.  You  talk  like  my 
dear  mother.  Yes,  I  trust  I  do  love  Jesus.'  'Bless 
the  Lord,'  said  John,  '  that  makes  us  brother  and  sis- 
ter. If  you  love  the  Saviour,  and  I  see  you  do,  would 
3* 


54  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR. 

you  not  like  a  season  of  prayer  ? '  She  replied,  *  I 
would  be  glad  to  have  you  pray.'  They  knelt  side 
by  side,  and  John  poured  out  his  soul  in  supplication. 
At  the  close  of  the  prayer  the  lady  asked,  '  What  is  the 
price  of  your  books  ?'  *  Which  one  ?'  said  Brother 
Vassar.  *  All  of  them,'  was  her  answer.  The  calcula- 
tion was  made  ;  then  calling  a  servant  she  bade  him 
carry  them  to  the  library,  paid  Brother  Vassar  for 
them,  gave  him  something  for  himself,  and  with  tears 
in  her  eyes  begged  him  to  forgive  her  manner  at  the 
door.  *  Don't  mention  it,  my  sister, '  said  Brother  Vas- 
sar, '  you  know  what  our  blessed  Master  had  to  bear.' 

"  His  manner  in  the  prayer-meeting,  as  I  remember 
it  in  those  distant  days,  and  that  which  I  have  seen  in 
his  later  life,  was  in  my  judgment  much  the  same.  I 
do  not  think  his  character  had  those  stages  of  growth 
which  mark  most  Christian  men.  In  Christ  Jesus  he 
seemed  to  have  been  born  a  man  of  full  stature.  It  is 
said  of  the  river  Jordan  that,  unlike  most  streams,  it 
does  not  start  with  small  springs  and  receive  the  con- 
tributions of  rivulets  by  the  way,  so  attaining  fulness, 
but  bursts  forth  from  one  vast  source,  a  river  rolling 
to  the  sea. 

"  I  never  met  his  like  in  all  the  varied  labors  of  a 
saint.  He  was  a  master  in  all  the  sword  exercise  of 
God's  Word." 

With  this  Cleveland  campaign,  service  in  what 
might  be  called  the  Department  of  the  West  for  a  sea- 
son ended.  Years  afterward  he  was  again  on  some 
of  these  old  camp-grounds. 


CHAPTER    V. 
OFF    ON    FURLOUGH. 

*•  Rest  is  not  quitting 
The  busy  career  ; 
Rest  is  the  fitting 

Of  self  to  its  sphere." 

The  summer  of  1852  found  Uncle  John  again  in 
his  old  home.  His  mother  had  gone  far  beyond  her 
three  score  and  ten  years,  and  growing  feebleness  indi- 
cated that  the  end  was  not  far  away.  The  only  child 
remaining  with  her  was  a  daughter  who  from  girlhood 
had  been  frail.  It  became  a  question  whether  duty 
did  not  require  him  to  stay  where  he  could  smooth  the 
last  few  months  of  a  parent  whose  devotion  to  her  chil- 
dren had  been  unsurpassed.  Satisfied  that  maternal 
claims  were  for  the  present  paramount,  he  dissolved 
his  connection  with  the  Tract  Society,  and  waited 
tenderly  on  the  failing  steps  of  the  mother  till  Octo- 
ber, when  he  laid  her  down  in  hope  by  the  good 
father's  side. 

Friends  in  Poughkeepsie  now  insisted  that  there 
was  work  enough  for  him  at  home,  and  especially  in 
the  temperance  line.  In  many  places  the  so-called 
"  Carson  League"  had  been  organized,  the  chief  object 
of  which  was  to  suppress  the  unlicensed  sale  of  intoxi- 
cating drink.     This  Society  pressed  him  to  become  its 


56  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR, 

agent  in  Dutchess  County,  to  bring  to  justice  offenders 
against  law.  It  is  needless  to  remark  that  this  was 
vastly  less  congenial  employment  than  telling  "  the 
old,  old  story  of  Jesus  and  his  love."  But  the  evil  to 
be  fought  v/as  a  crying  one,  and  what  right  had  any 
child  of  God  to  decline  a  service  simply  because  it  was 
disagreeable  ?  He  would  be  withstanding  sin  and 
Satan  still.  So  he  grappled  with  the  whiskey  power, 
and  it  never  found  in  that  region  a  foe  who  dealt  it 
heavier  blows,  or  one  whom  it  was  so  difficult  to  scare 
or  beat.  As  religiously  as  he  ever  went  to  his  closet 
to  pray  he  ferreted  out  law-breakers  in  saloons,  and 
groceries,  and  taverns,  and  groggeries,  nor  rested  till  a 
number  were  inside  of  prison  bars  instead  of  liquor 
bars,  and  dozens  more,  alarmed,  gave  up  the  illicit 
trade.  As  might  be  expected,  **  certain  lewd  fellows 
of  the  baser  sort"  cursed  and  threatened  and  reviled. 
They  hung  him  in  ^'^^  in  front  of  the  County  Court 
House  with  the  inscription,  "  This  is  John  Vassar  and 
the  Maine  Law."  They  prosecuted  him  in  court  on  a 
charge  of  assault  and  battery  because  one  day,  in  an 
earnest  argument,  he  held  a  man  for  a  moment  by  the 
arm,  when  he  was  about  to  turn  away.  They  followed 
him  on  the  streets  in  hooting  rabbles.  His  life  was 
more  than  once  in  jeopardy.  One  of  these  attempts 
to  frighten,  if  not  to  injure  him,  let  one  who  witnessed 
it  oescribe— L.  T.  Perkins,  Esq.,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y., 
then  a  Poughkeepsie  boy. 

"One    afternoon  he  came    up   Market   Street   to 
Main,  and  up  Main  to  the  Gregory  House,  followed  by 


OFF  ON  FURLOUGH.  57 

some  two  hundred  angry  men,  many  of  them  carrying 
clubs  and  threatening  his  hfe.  He  passed  through  the 
hotel  by  a  back  way,  and  came  down  Mill  Street  to  our 
church,  where  the  usual  prayer-meeting  was  about  to 
begin.  I  shall  never  forget  the  burning  enthusiasm 
of  the  man  as  he  spoke  that  night,  or  the  fervor  of  his 
prayer.  After  the  meeting  I  wanted  to  go  home  with 
him,  being  fearful  that  he  might  be  harmed.  I  know 
it  was  absurd  to  think  that  my  five-foot  and  hundred- 
pound  body  could  have  done  much  toward  protecting 
him,  but  I  loved  him,  and  so  I  wished  to  go  along. 
As  we  were  coming  up  the  basement  steps,  our  pastor. 
Rev.  Thomas  Goodwin,  said,  *  Here,  Brother  Vassar, 
take  this  cane  of  mine  ;  I  can  get  along  without  it,  and 
some  of  these  men  may  be  lurking  along  the  streets 
and  may  fall  on  you.'  Uncle  John  just  braced  him- 
self back,  held  up  both  hands,  and  said,  '  Brother 
Goodwin,  the  Lord  has  given  me  these  hands  for  wea- 
pons, and  they  are  all  I  need.  If  my  Master  wants 
John  Vassar  to-night,  nothing  can  save  him.  If  He 
does  not,  all  these  men  combined  can't  hurt  him." 

For  two  years  he  thus  pushed  this  work,  during 
which  time  he  saw  his  steadfast  friend,  the  late  George 
W.  Sterling,  sent  to  the  State  Legislature  from  the 
Poughkeepsie  district,  on  a  straight-out  temperance 
ticket,  and  other  triumphs  Vv'on  neither  few  nor  small. 
Concerning  these  days  this  is  about  all  the  record  v/e 
have  from  his  own  hand  :  "I  look  back  with  wonder 
to  see  how  much  the  Lord  has  brought  me  through. 
Blessed  be  His  holy  name.     I  have  visited  the  nineteen 


58  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR. 

towns  of  the  county,  and  some  of  them  twice  over.  1 
have  walked  on  an  average  twenty  miles  a  day,  and 
spoken  publicly  about  every  night.  I  believe  some 
good  has  been  done,  but  I  take  to  myself  no  praise. 
I  am  an  unprofitable  servant  anywhere,  and  far  too 
little  concerned  for  any  good  cause." 

Toward  the  close  of  these  labors — in  December, 
1854 — he  was  married  to  Miss  Harriet  M.  Brownson, 
formerly  of  Monticello,  Sullivan  County,  N.  Y.,  and  at 
the  date  of  the  marriage  a  very  active  member  of  the 
Poughkeepsie  church.  In  entering  into  this  new  rela- 
tion it  was  understood  that  the  remainder  of  his  life 
was  to  be  devoted  to  evangelistic  labor,  and  that  this 
labor  would  be  likely  to  make  of  him  literally  a  pilgrim 
and  stranger,  having  no  continuing  city,  no  permanent 
or  settled  home.  Animated  by  much  of  his  spirit,  the 
wife  sought  in  nowise  to  hold  him  back,  but  at  the 
first,  as  ever  afterward,  consented  readily  to  such  sepa- 
rations as  long  absences  required,  and  such  an  increase 
of  care  and  duty  as  they  might  bring.  Bible  work,  in 
his  native  county,  claimed  his  attention  for  six  months 
or  more.  The  object  in  securing  him  was  to  effect  if 
possible  an  entrance  into  eveiy  house  of  the  county,  and 
the  putting  of  a  copy  of  God's  Word  in  every  home 
Vv^here  it  was  not  found.  So  thorough  a  canvass  of 
that  field  no  one  man  has  ever  made.  From  the  shan- 
ties of  the  coal-burners  on  Fishkill  Mountains,  to  the 
mansions  of  the  wealthiest  in  the  towns  he  went,  and  in 
almost  eveiy  instance  was  well  received.  A  few,  irri- 
tated by  his  ^ec^nt  temperance  work,  shut  their  doors 


OFF  ON  FURLOUGH,  59 

in  his  face,  but  several  such  were  melted  when  he 
promptly  knelt  down  upon  the  stoop,  and  tenderly 
prayed  that  in  turning  him  away  they  might  not  turn 
away  his  Lord.  For  Romanists  who  would  receive  no 
other,  the  Douay  version  was  carried,  and  so  in  the 
autumn  he  was  able  to  report  that  there  were  few  fam- 
ilies in  all  the  district  in  which  the  Scriptures  could 
not  be  seen. 

The  wide  acquaintance  thus  acquired  led  the  Dutch- 
ess Baptist  Association  to  recognize  in  him  the  man 
above  all  others  to  undertake  mission  work  within  their 
bounds.  This  body  embraced  some  twenty  or  more 
churches,  and  amid  these  for  seven  or  eight  years  he 
now  moved,  aiding  by  prayer  and  exhortation  in  extra 
meetings,  and  especially  in  visiting  from  house  to 
house.  Here  it  was  that  he  first  took  on  himself  the 
title  of  *' Shepherd's  dog,"  a  title  which  thereafter 
clung  to  him,  and  by  which  he  was  almost  as  well 
known  as  "Uncle  John."  It  originated  in  the  fact 
that  he  always  and  everywhere  refused  to  be  considered 
a  preacher,  declaring  that  it  was  his  office  simply  to  go 
around  and  seek  out,  and  bring  under  the  minister's 
notice,  anxious  and  troubled  souls.  These  years  were 
years  of  growth  such  as  his  own  denomination  had  not 
known  through  that  region  for  a  long  while,  and  never 
since  has  seen.  The  revival  spirit  went  from  church 
to  church.  Drowsy  Christians  started  up  where  he 
came,  as  sleeping  soldiers  at  bugle  call.  Formal  pro- 
fessors thawed  out  into  a  spring-time  of  devotion  as 
frozen  clods  thaw  out  when  April  winds  breathe  across 


6o  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR. 

the  fields.  Hundreds  bowed  as  penitent  sinners  at  the 
Saviour's  feet,  and  rose  to  walk  in  newness  of  life  with 
their  risen  Lord. 

Many  who  labored  with  him  in  these  seasons  have 
passed  on  with  their  brother  toiler,  and  entered  into 
rest.  Others  remain.  Let  them  add  their  testimony 
here. 

Rev.  W.  O.  Holman,  of  Bunker  Hill  Church,  Bos- 
ton, writes  :  "  I  was  studying  for  the  ministry  in  the 
city  of  New  York,  and  was  supplying  the  Baptist 
church  in  Amenia,  twenty-five  miles  east  of  Pough- 
keepsie,  a  church  which  was  at  the  time  pastorless, 
when  our  acquaintance  began.  A  revival  had  broken 
out  in  our  meetings,  and  Uncle  John  was  soon  on 
hand.  One  Sunday,  while  I  was  preaching,  a  short, 
thick-set  man,  with  a  genial  countenance,  came  in. 
He  took  a  seat  near  the  pulpit,  and  putting  his  eyes 
intently  on  me  kept  his  lips  moving,  as  if  in  assent  or 
prayer.  At  the  close  of  the  service  he  grasped  my 
hand,  and  was  so  hearty  and  cordial  and  enthusiastic 
that  I  was  almost  repelled.  He  interested  me  never- 
theless, and  we  were  soon  the  best  of  friends.  Blessed 
be  God  for  the  hour  that  brought  us  together.  I  have 
known  many  a  good  man  after  the  flesh,  but  never 
another  such  as  he. 

"  Together  we  travelled  from  house  to  house,  over 
hill  and  dale,  through  cold  and  snow,  rain  and  sun- 
shine, seeking  for  sinners  to  lead  to  Christ.  Never 
shall  I  forget  his  apt,  earnest,  pointed  appeals.  The 
fruit?  of  that  meeting  were  glorious.     Old  feuds  among 


OFF  ON  FURLOUGH,  6i 

believers  were  healed,  and  from  fifty  to  seventy  souls 
converted  to  the  Lord.  A  year  or  more  afterward  I 
was  ordained  and  settled  at  Poughkeepsie,  and  so  be- 
came the  pastor  of  Uncle  John.  There  we  worked 
together  in  a  most  blessed  season  in  the  spring  of 
1858.  On  a  single  Sabbath  I  was  privileged  to  give 
the  hand  of  fellowship  to  sixty-three  new  believers, 
many  of  whom  still  survive,  and  some  of  whom  were 
permitted  to  drop  the  tear  of  affection  over  one  who 
helped  guide  their  returning  feet  to  the  Shepherd  and 
Bishop  of  souls. 

"The  next  August  we  went  to  Beekman,  where 
there  was  a  little  feeble  church,  for  a  four  days'  m.eet- 
ing.  It  was  right  in  harvest-time,  but  the  people 
flocked  together,  and  the  literal  harvest  was  nothing 
alongside  the  harvest  of  souls  which  there  was  gathered 
in.  The  four  days'  service  ran  into  four  weeks,  and 
it  really  seemed  as  if  Uncle  John's  heart  and  head 
Avere  in  heaven,  while  his  feet  yet  trod  the  earth. 
That  community  Vv'ill  tell  of  his  toils  and  travels,  during 
those  weeks,  forever. 

"  Thence  we  went  to  Fishkill  Plains  and  Shenan- 
doah, and  oh  !  the  sv/eet  wonders  of  redeeming  grace 
that  were  displayed.  Uncle  John  seemed  divinely 
anointed.  If  ever  soul  revelled  in  the  love  of  Christ,  he 
did.  He  testified  to  every  one  who  would  listen  by 
day,  and  then  far  into  the  night  he  would  wrestle  for 
anxious  souls.  Winter  after  winter  in  Poughkeepsie, 
during  my  five  years'  pastorate,  he  would  come  home 
long  enough  to  labor  for  awhile.     God  uniformly  gave 


(i2  UNCLE  JOHN   VASSAR. 

His  blessing,  and  the  precious  revivals  of  those  early 
years  are  hallowed  in  my  heart  forever.  Oh  for  one 
more  hour  with  the  dear  old  man,  one  more  prayer 
together,  one  more  exhortation,  one  Scripture  expo- 
sition such  as  he  used  to  give  ;  but  alas  !  we  shall  see  his 
face  and  hear  his  voice  no  more." 

Rev.  J.  Donnelly,  of  Ionia,  Michican,  says:  "In 
August  of  1858  Uncle  John  came  out  to  Beekman, 
where  I,  then  a  student  at  Hamilton  was  supplying  the 
church.  I  shall  never  forget  the  day  he  came  to  my 
study.  I  was  busy  writing  out  a  sermon  for  Sunday, 
and  was  about  half  done,  when  a  rap  at  my  door  brought 
him  in.  Greetings  were  soon  exchanged,  a  season 
of  prayer  followed,  and  in  thirty  minutes  from  the 
time  he  entered  we  were  out  calling  and  at  missionary 
work.  I  did  not  see  how  I  could  go,  at  first,  and 
leave  my  sermon  unfinished.  But  I  went.  That  ser- 
mon was  never  finished.  Before  Sunday  came,  ay, 
before  the  first  night,  there  were  anxious  souls  inqui- 
ring after  Christ,  and  my  subject  had  to  be  changed. 
Over  forty-five  persons,  as  the  result  of  the  work  thus 
begun,  were  added  to  the  church,  and  of  the  human 
agencies  emplo3^ed  Uncle  John  must  be  accounted  first. 
For  what  I  then  and  there  learned,  for  the  breaking-in 
I  received  in  the  matter  of  dealing  with  souls,  I  have 
thanked  John  Vassar  since  a  thousand  times.  During 
this  revival  I  was  much  with  him,  and  can  testify  that 
the  last  thing  before  his  eyes  closed  was  prayer,  and 
the  first  when  his  eyes  opened.  After  an  experience  of 
twenty  years  I  am  free  to  say  that  I  never  knew  a  man 


OFF  ON  FURLOUGH,  63 

who  prayed  so  much,  and  I  never  knew  a  man  who 
lived  so  constantly  in  the  sunshine  of  a  Saviour's  pres- 
ence and  love.  If  ever  a  man  lived  Christ,  it  was  John 
E.  Vassar. " 

Of  these  same  meetings  Rev.  J.  L.  Benedict,  of 
White  Plains,  N.  Y.,  a  college  classmate  of  Mr.  Don- 
nelly, gives  this  account  :  **  On  entering  the  village  of 
Beekman  on  a  visit  to  my  friend,  who  was  supplying 
the  little  church  there,  I  did  not  know  just  where  to 
find  him  ;  so,  accosting  a  man  who  was  nearing  me  and 
walking  very  fast,  I  inquired.  The  stranger  thus  ad- 
dressed pointed  out  the  place,  and  in  the  next  breath 
said,  "Are  you  a  Christian,  my  young  friend?"  I 
answered  that  I  hoped  I  was.  A  few  more  words 
passed,  and  then  he  went  on,  remarking  that  he  was 

*  in  a  hurry  to  look  up  some  sheep. '  After  greeting  my 
fellow-student,  and  being  introduced  to  the  family  in 
which  he  made  his  home,  I  remarked  that  I  had  just 
met  a  crazy  man  up  the  road  in  search  of  some  sheep. 
The  whole  group  laughed  outright,  and  my  friend  said, 

*  Why,  that  was  John  Vassar,  our  county  missionary  ; 
and  the  sheep  that  he  is  in  search  of  are  the  Lord's.* 
A  few  days  afterward  Uncle  John  wished  me  to  ac- 
company him  to  the  old  Fishkill  church,  a  few  miles 
below,  where  the  venerable  Elder  Robinson  had 
preached  for  many  years.  This  aged  minister  was  not 
friendly  to  protracted  meetings,  yet  he  and  his  church 
had  confidence  in  Uncle  John,  and  readily  consented 
to  open  their  house  of  worship  for  a  week.  The  very 
first  evening  five  young  men  rose  for  prayer,  and  within 


64  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR, 

a  month  between  thirty  and  forty  made  a  public  pro- 
fession of  their  faith.  One  day  I  accompanied  Uncle 
John  in  his  visits,  and  we  called  at  the  house  of  Mr. 
S.,  where  there  were  several  young  people,  uncon- 
verted then.  On  our  approach  they  ran  into  another 
room  to  get  out  of  the  way.  He  saw  the  movement, 
and  went  straight  in  where  they  were.  Then,  with 
all  the  tender  sympathy  of  his  great  heart,  he  entreated 
them  to  yield  to  Christ,  and  falling  on  his  knees 
pleaded  for  them  separately  each  by  name.  Before 
we  left  the  house  they  were  in  tears,  and  were  praying 
for  themselves.  They  all  became  living  witnesses  for 
Christ.  During  the  course  of  the  day  we  stopped  un- 
der the  shade  of  a  large  oak  to  rest,  and  while  stopping 
there  I  took  occasion  to  ask  him  if  he  always  thus  fol- 
lowed up  those  who  sought  to  avoid  him.  He  replied 
that  he  did  not,  that  ordinarily  it  might  irritate  them, 
but  that  in  cases  where  he  believed  the  Spirit  of  God 
was  working,  and  especially  in  revival  seasons,  he 
would  so  hunt  them  up. 

"  To  make  more  clear  his  meaning  he  told  me  of 
an  instance  which  occurred  not  long  before,  but 
charged  me  never  to  repeat  it  publicly,  lest  it  should 
excite  a  lauq-h  and  divert  attention  from  more  serious 
concerns.  Somewhere  in  a  meeting  he  had  met  a 
young  man  troubled  evidently  about  his  salvation,  and 
apparently  more  than  half  persuaded  to  settle  the  con- 
flict by  out-and-out  committal  of  himself  to  the  Lord. 
One  day  Uncle  John  felt  the  impression  very  strong 
that  he  ought  to  go  and  see  this  wavering  soul.     It  was 


OFF  ON  FURL  O  UGH.  65 

nearly  noon,  and  the  men  on  the  farm  were  coming  in 
from  the  field.  All  gathered  around  the  table  for  dinner 
save  the  one  that  it  was  desired  to  reach.  The  father 
said  that  the  son  would  probably  be  in  presently,  but 
he  did  not  come.  Uncle  John  feared  that  he  was  keep- 
ing out  of  the  way  purposely,  and  determined  to  go 
out  and  look  him  up.  Through  all  the  out-buildings 
he  searched  and  called,  but  without  success,  and  was 
about  to  give  up  the  quest  when  he  chanced  to  spy  the 
door  of  a  corn-crib  open,  and  entering  it,  in  a  large 
hogshead  he  found  the  young  man  concealed.  Climb- 
ing right  over  into  it  by  the  trembling,  confounded, 
humiliated  sinner's  side,  he  began  to  talk  and  pray, 
and  there  the  penitent  settled  the  question  to  be  for- 
ever the  Lord's.  Afterward  he  confessed  to  Uncle 
John  that  v/hen  he  saw  him  hunting  around  he  took  a 
sort  of  malicious  satisfaction  in  thinking  he  had  evaded 
him.  The  devil  was  making  his  last  effort  to  retain  in 
his  clutch  a  troubled  soul.  But  v/hen  discovery  came, 
then  over  the  fugitive  crept  such  a  sense  of  shame,  and 
meanness,  and  foolishness,  and  wickedness,  as  m^ade 
him  loathe  himself,  and  prepared  him  to  fall  as  a  weak 
and  guilty  thing  into  the  Saviour's  arms.  Very  dis- 
tinctly Uncle  John  affirmed  that  it  would  not  answer 
to  so  treat  every  case,  and  very  solemnly  he  adjured 
m^e  as  a  young  preacher  never  to  tell  anything  in 
preaching  that  would  make  men  see  me  v/hen  they 
ought  to  see  Christ,  or  think  of  my  adroitness  or 
shrewdness  when  they  ought  to  be  thinking  of  His 
love  and  grace.     Then,  having  thus  counselled  me,  he 


66  UNCLE  JOHN  VASSAR. 

bowed  under   that  grand   old   oak  and  wrestled  for  a 
blessing  as  once  in  the  past  Jacob  did. 

"  More  than  twenty  years  have  passed  since  I  spent 
those  three  happy  weeks  with  John  E.  Vassar,  but  I 
learned  more  practical  theology,  more  about  the  working 
of  God's  Spirit  on  the  hearts  of  men,  more  about  the 
way  to  deal  with  the  impenitent  or  awakened,  than  in 
any  like  period  of  my  life.  Indeed,  the  keynote  to  my 
life-work  in   the  ministry  I  got  then  and  there." 

*'He  who  could  convert  a  hogshead  into  a  Bethel  was  of 
the  right  stamp  for  a  county  missionary,  and  must  have 
many  imitators  if  the  wanderers  are  to  be  brought  nigh.'* 

An  aged  woman,  Mrs.  A.  B.  Minor,  of  New  Haven 
County,  Conn.,  contributes  these  items,  bringing  out 
several  characteristics  of  the  man. 

"One  winter,  when  Mr.  Vassar  was  assisting  his 
nephew,  then  pastor  at  Amenia,  N.  Y.,  he  came  over 
to  Sharon,  Conn.,  not  more  than  half  a  dozen  miles 
away,  where  was  then  my  home.  For  my  unconverted 
son,  about  twenty  years  of  age,  he  at  once  became  in- 
terested, facing  him  with  this  question  soon  as  they 
met,  'Tell  me,  G.,  do  you  love  the  Lord  Jesus?* 
From  that  interview  my  child  dated  his  hope.  He  has 
been  for  eleven  years  now  in  the  heavenly  home,  and  I 
think  with  what  joy  he  must  have  given  welcome  to 
the  man  who  did  so  much  to  guide  him  there. 

"  There  was  another  man  in  the  neighborhood  far 
from  righteousness.  Mr.  Vassar  went  over  to  his 
house,  and  taking  up  a  little  child  belonging  there  he 
said,  *  I  love  these  little  ones,  and  want  their  parents 
to  bring  them  up  for  God.'      The  stout-hearted  father 


OFF  ON  FURLOUGH.  67 

melted  right  down,  and  soon  in  our  meetings  his  voice 
was  leading  us  in  prayer. 

"  Another  aged  man,  very  moral  and  upright,  but 
long  oppressed  with  the  fear  that  he  had  been  given 
over  by  God,  was,  under  Mr.  Vassar's  labors,  led  out 
into  the  light,  and  brought  where  he  could  praise  and 
pray.  So  God  blessed  his  efforts,  and  when  I  think 
of  those  days  in  '58  and  '59,  and  '60,  and  how  the 
dear  young  people,  as  well  as  those  older,  were  drawn 
toward  him,  and  not  only  toward  him,  but  to  that 
Saviour  whom  he  served,  I  bless  God  for  ever  having 
known  him,  and  for  the  sweet  remembrances  that 
come  rising  up." 

Rev.  G.  F.  Hendrickson,  of  Fairview,  N.  J.,  sends 
these  recollections:  "A  v/eek  after  accepting  the 
pastoral  care  of  the  South  Dover  Church,  in  the 
spring  of  1857,  Uncle  John  as  county  missionary  came 
upon  that  field.  At  once  our  meetings  began  to  fill 
up,  for  he  would  pass  no  one  without  inviting  him  to 
the  house  of  God.  Many  who  rarely  if  ever  attended 
church  were  through  his  efforts  brought  there,  and  a 
dozen  or  fifteen  found  Christ,  some  of  whom  are  with 
him  on  the  other  side  of  time  and  death  to-day.  Dur- 
ing these  labors  Uncle  John  was  taken  very  ill ;  and  it 
fell  to  my  lot  to  nurse  and  wait  upon  him  ;  and  never 
did  I  see  such  faith  and  trust.  Again  and  again  he 
would  say  to  us  when  recovery  seemed  improbable,  *  I 
shall  not  die,  but  live  to  declare  God's  salvation.' 
Often  that  sick-room  was  like  the  gate  of  heaven. 

"  Two  years  later  he  again  aided  me  in  what  was 


68  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR. 

the  most  powerful  revival  that  church  has  ever  known. 
Among  ministers  and  members  of  our  churches  all 
through  that  region  his  memory  will  long  abide  a  pre- 
cious and  sacred  trust." 

Mrs.  A.  E.  Beckwith,  of  Stissing,  N.  Y.,  gives 
these  recollections  and  impressions  of  the  period  lying 
between  1854  and  1862  :  "  It  was  a  great  pleasure  to 
see  Uncle  John  come  into  our  home,  for  he  always 
brought  so  much  of  heaven  along.  The  all-absorbing 
passion  of  his  soul  was  love  to  God  and  the  perishing 
around  him.  In  the  winter  of  1857-58  he  began  vis- 
iting in  our  neighborhood,  and  evening  meetings  at  the 
school-house  were  begun.  So  intense  was  the  interest 
developed  that  the  services  had  to  be  removed  to  the 
church.  The  whole  town  of  Stanford  was  aroused, 
and  nearly  two  hundred  are  believed  to  have  turned  to 
God.  Later,  while  Dr.  Holman  served  as  pastor,  and 
especially  in  i860  or  1861,  a  powerful  religious  awak- 
ening followed  his  visits  and  the  preaching  of  the 
Word.  He  would  take  different  localities  day  after 
day,  appointing  in  each  a  meeting  for  the  afternoon. 
One  day — perhaps  at  one  or  two  o'clock — he  came 
hurrying  into  our  house,  asking  for  something  to  eat. 
His  boots  were  all  soaked  with  snow  v/ater,  and  he  had 
eaten  nothing  so  far  that  day.  He  had  fasted  till  he 
could  get  an  assurance  of  a  blessing  on  the  labor  un- 
dertaken, and  now  it  had  been  given.  In  these  efforts 
of  his  he  would  kneel  and  pray  with  the  anxious  any- 
where he  found  them,  in  the  barn,  the  field,  even  in 
the  snow  along  the  road." 


OFF  ON  FURLOUGH,  69 

Mrs.  E.  A.  Ketcliam,  of  Dover  Plains,  N.  Y., 
says  :  "  The  world  has  sustained  a  loss  in  his  removal. 
The  story  of  his  life  and  labors,  if  it  could  be  written, 
would  prove  a  blessing  to  thousands.  I  remember 
with  joy  and  thankfulness  his  labors  in  our  church  at 
different  times.  His  last  visit  especially  we  all  recall. 
He  stopped  at  my  son's  to  dinner,  and  two  little 
prayer-meetings  were  held  in  that  single  hour." 

Uncle  John's  true  yoke-fellow  during  this  Dutchess 
County  work  was  Rev.  C.  B.  Post,  of  Dover  Plains. 
With  the  exception  possibly  of  his  own  pastor,  and  the 
compiler  of  this  book,  no  other  minister  knew  him  dur- 
ing those  years  so  well.  He  no  longer  shares  in  the 
struggles  and  victories  of  Christ's  militant  Church,  but 
Mrs.  Post  from  her  home  near  the  "  Golden  Gate,"  in 
the  far  West,  sends  these  memorials  of  those  years  : 

"  It  is  nearly  twenty-four  years  since  he  first  came 
to  our  house,  and  during  the  seven  years  foUowng  he 
and  my  husband  labored  together  weeks  and  months  in 
our  own  or  other  towns.  Brother  Vassar  would  com- 
monly go  first,  talking  and  praying  with  the  people  ; 
and  when  he  saw  the  mercy-cloud  beginning  to 
gather,  he  would  send  for  Mr.  Post,  saying,  *  Come, 
bishop,  the  Lord  wants  you  to  feed  the  sheep  that  He 
shall  use  me  to  bring  together. ' 

**  One  winter,  when  comj'ng  to  labor  with  our  own 

church,  a  heavy  snow-storm  set  in.     It  continued  till 

the  roads  were  blocked.     In  this  condition  they  kept 

for  several  days.     The  people  could  not  get  out,  and 

meetings  were  not  to  be  thought  of.     But  he  could  not 
4 


70  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR. 

be  snow-bound.  He  would  flounder  through  the  drifts 
somehow,  often  kneehng  in  them  to  thank  God  for 
mercies  granted  or  plead  with  God  for  mercies  needed. 

"  Once  when  talking  with  our  Sunday-school  about 
the  death  of  his  little  son  he  said,  '  When  I  laid  Johnny 
down  out  of  my  arms  into  the  arms  of  the  dear  Saviour, 
this  world  and  I  forever  parted  company.*  We  all 
believed  that  utterance  was  true,  and  felt  persuaded 
that  the  partnership  there  and  thus  dissolved  had 
never  since  been  renewed. 

"  He  once  gave  me  an  idea  never  to  be  forgotten. 
Something  was  being  said  about  ill-treatment  which  he 
had  encountered,  on  a  certain  visit.  He  quickly  re- 
plied, '  A  sinner  cannot  abuse  old  John  Vassar.  The 
poor  lost  soul  !  oh,  how  I  love  him  !' 

"  A  marked  trait  in  his  character  was  his  love  for 
God's  ministers.  No  unjust  or  severe  criticism  ever 
escaped  his  lips.  They  were  the  Lord's  chosen  mes- 
sengers, and  he  loved  them  for  the  Master's  sake.  The 
affection  between  him  and  Mr.  Post  was  mutual  and 
very  strong.  It  is  no  less  strong  now  that  they  see 
the  King  in  His  beauty,  and  are  forever  with  the 
Lord." 

Of  this  same  period  Mrs.  Sarah  L.  Lyon,  Pough- 
keepsie,  tells  :  **  It  was  in  the  early  part  of  March, 
i860,  that  this  man  of  God  was  directed  to  my  father's 
house.  The  winter  had  been  unusually  severe,  so  that 
the  drifts  of  snow  yet  lay  over  the  fences,  and  the 
road  leading  up  over  the  hill  to  our  home  was  fairly 
blocked.     We  were  therefore  surprised  to  see  a  stranger 


OFF  ON  FURLOUGH.  71 

on  foot  pushing  along  it,  and  finally  making  for  our 
door.  As  he  came  nearer  he  was  recognized  as  John 
Vassar,  of  temperance  renown.  To  my  mother  he  was 
a  welcome  visitor,  but  not  to  me.  I  would  have  es- 
caped the  interview  but  for  the  importunity  of  my 
mother,  who  said,  '  Stay  and  listen  to  a  man  who  has 
travelled  through  this  snow  knee-deep  to  do  us  good.' 
I  tried  to  repulse  him  when  he  began  to  plead  with 
me,  by  talking  of  universal  salvation,  which  in  my  im- 
penitence I  had  tried  to  find  safety  in  ;  but  his  clear 
reasoning  quickly  swept  such  arguments  away.  Then 
he  asked  us  to  kneel  while  he  poured  out  his  soul  in 
prayer.  And  such  a  prayer  we  never  heard.  We 
were  all  melted  down.  His  visit  was  short,  but  it  was 
wonderful.  Three  of  our  names  were  added  to  the  list 
that  he  called  his  *  dear  children  in  Christ  Jesus,'  and 
a  fire  of  sacred  love  was  kindled  in  our  hearts,  never, 
we  trust,  to  go  out.  The  home-roof  of  my  childhood 
was  long  since  exchanged  for  another,  to  which  I  have 
ever  esteemed  it  an  honor  to  give  him  welcome,  and 
under  which  children  now  gather  who  have  been  taught 
to  rise  up  and  call  him  blessed. 

"  The  benediction  was  not  confined  to  our  house- 
hold. A  revival  in  the  neighborhood  broke  out,  which 
spread  wide,  and  proved  lasting  ;  and  many,  I  believe, 
will,  to  and  through  eternity,  sing  love's  redeeming 
song  from  the  work  then  and  there  done  by  this  good 
man." 

Another  says  :  "  I  cannot  now  name  the  date,  but 
about   twenty   years  ago  Mr.  S.  was  drawing  a  load 


72  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR, 

along  the  road  when  he  met  a  stranger,  who  stopped 
and  said,  *  What  may  I  call  your  name,  sir?'  The  one 
addressed  replied,  'My  name  is  S. '  *  Ah,  you  are 
a  deacon  in  the  church  here,  are  you  not  ?'  was  the  re- 
sponse. '  I  am,  sir,'  was  the  answer.  *  Well,  deacon,' 
said  the  stranger,  '  my  name  is  Vassar — John  Vassar ; 
now,  is  your  wife  a  Christian  ?'  *  I  am  sorry  to  say 
that  she  is  not.'  *  Have  you  any  objection  to  my  call- 
ing and  conversing  with  your  family  ?'  *  Not  the  least, 
not  the  least.'  'God  bless  you,  Brother  S.  Good 
morning.'  Uncle  John  passed  along,  and  the  deacon 
went  on  and  turned  into  a  field  with  his  load.  He 
had  not  gone  more  than  thirty  rods  when  the  thought 
came  to  him,  *  How  is  this  ?  Here  is  a  stranger  more 
concerned  for  the  salvation  of  my  household  than  I  am. 
This  is  not  right.  This  won't  do.'  Mr.  S.  jumped 
off  his  load,  unhitched  the  horses  from  the  sled,  tied 
them,  and  started  for  the  house.  He  arrived  just  in 
time  to  hear  the  prayer.  That  load  was  not  moved 
again  for  six  weeks.  Mrs.  S.  was  converted,  and 
forty-two  others  united  with  the  Kent  and  East  Fish- 
kill  Church." 

For  obvious  reasons  the  following  touching  state- 
ment is  given  without  its  author's  name  : 

"  Uncle  John  came  to  my  father's  house  for  the 
first  time  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago.  My 
father  was  at  that  time  an  inebriate,  and  our  home  was 
suffering  under  the  blight  of  rum.  His  coming  was  the 
beginning  of  better  days.  It  resulted  in  the  conversion 
cf  the  father  and  all  seven  of  us  children.     Two  of  the 


OFF  ON  FURL  O  UGH.  73 

children  are  now  in  the  ministry,  two  others,  together 
with  the  parents,  have  died  in  hope,  and  we  are  waiting 
for  a  happy  family  reunion  on  the  river's  other  side. 

"P'ifteen  years  later,  in  company  with  my  brother, 
he  visited  the  same  house,  and  that  interview  resulted 
in  the  salvation  of  the  man  and  his  wife  then  living 
there." 

Of  these  days  an  army  friend  has  this  to  say  :  "  He 
was  never  happier  in  his  life,  he  has  told  me,  than  when 
wading  through  the  snowdrifts  from  farm  to  farm  in  old 
Dutchess  County. 

"  How  vividly  I  recall  the  play  of  countenance,  the 
animation  of  voice,  the  gesture  with  which,  night  after 
night,  with  all  the  camp  around  us  asleep,  he  poured  out 
the  narrative,  while  I  lent  him  a  charmed  ear,  and 
laughed  and  cried  together. 

"  He  had  scores  of  stories  to  tell.  One  of  his  experi- 
ences during  this  period,  as  he  related  it,  I  vividly 
remember.  I  will  give  only  its  main  features,  not 
attempting  to  repeat  his  words. 

"  He  went  to  one  place  which  had  long  been  under 
the  blight  of  spiritual  declension,  and  where  among  the 
youth  of  the  community  there  was  not  a  single  profess- 
ing Christian.  He  was  informed  that  the  leading  spirit 
in  the  social  life  of  the  place  was  a  young  w^man— 
that  her  influence  was  commanding,  and  that  it  was 
used  against  religion.  If  she  could  be  won  to  Christ, 
a  great  point  would  be  gained.  So  Uncle  John  went  to 
see  her  first.  As  soon  as  she  understood  the  object  of 
his  visit,  she  rudely  refused   to  listen  to  him,  and  bade 


74  UNCLE  JOHN  VASSAR. 

him  begone  forthwith  without  another  word.  He  left 
her,  and  went  calling  elsewhere.  And  presently  about 
everybody  he  met  treated  him  coldly.  At  a  number  of 
houses  he  was  denied  admission,  in  one  instance  with 
violent  words.  He  did  not  know  what  to  make  of  it. 
But  the  explanation  soon  came  out.  The  young  woman 
he  had  first  visited,  in  her  extreme  anger  at  him,  had 
declared  that  he  had  offered  her  an  insult,  and  the  false- 
hood was  going  the  rounds,  and  was  everywhere  ahead 
of  him. 

"This  fact,  he  said  when  he  first  discovered  it, 
seemed  to  him  the  most  mysterious  providence  he  had 
ever  heard  of.  '  O  Lord,  what  does  it  mean  V  he  cried 
in  dismay.  His  work  was  completely  blocked.  There 
was  no  help  for  it ;  and  he  had  to  go.  Wondering  great- 
ly, but  submitting,  he  went  to  another  field  some  dis- 
tance away,  and  began  laboring  there.  He  had  been 
there  awhile,  and  was  seeing  hopeful  signs  of  good,  when 
one  evening  as  he  was  holding  a  meeting  in  a  school- 
house,  he  heard  a  large,  heavily-loaded  sleigh  drive  up 
and  stop  at  the  door.  When  the  door  was  opened,  there 
appeared  a  party  of  some  twenty  young  people,  with  the 
young  woman  before  mentioned  at  their  head.  Mr. 
Vassar's  first  thought  was  that  they  had  come  to  mob 
him  or  do  him  harm  of  some  sort.  They  came  in,  the 
whole  company,  all  strangers,  and  the  silence  that  fol- 
lowed was  broken  by  the  young  woman  standing  forth 
and  saying,  in  a  trembling  voice,  *  Mr.  Vassar,  I  have 
brought  these  friends  of  mine  with  me  to  hear  me  ask 
your  forgiveness  for  the  great  wrong  I  did  you  when  you 


OFF  ON  FURL  0  UGH.  75 

were  in  our  place.  Telling  that  lie  was  the  meanest 
thing  I  ever  did.  That  I  could  tell  it,  and  that  I  felt 
like  telling  it,  for  such  a  cause,  showed  me  as  I  never 
saw  it  before,  the  wickedness  of  my  heart — my  state  as 
a  sinner.  It  has  led  me,  I  trust,  to  ask  God's  forgive- 
ness, and  I  hope  that  for  Christ's  sake  he  has  heard  my 
prayer.     Will  you  forgive  me,  too  ?'  " 

To  all  these  memories  of  twenty  years  ago  we  might 
add  dozens  treasured  up  in  our  own  mind,  for  from 
1856  to  1862  we  labored  together  in  full  half  the  towns 
of  the  county  we  called  home.  Although  settled  in 
the  pastorate  at  Amenia,  we  went  as  other  ministers 
around  did  at  that  time,  to  help  in  neighboring  churches 
as  occasion  might  require.  Again  and  again  in  these 
campaigns  we  have  known  him  to  walk  twenty  miles  in 
a  single  day,  looking  up  wanderers  or  seekers,  and  then 
come  into  the  evening  service  showing  no  sign  of  weari- 
ness in  motion,  or  look,  or  voice. 

Once  in  trudging  along  in  a  snowy  road  he  was 
overtaken  by  a  gentleman  in  a  sleigh,  who  was  per- 
sonally a  very  estimable  man,  but  not  a  Christian.  He 
knew  Uncle  John  by  sight,  and  like  many  others  did 
not  admire  him,  but  rather  regarded  him  as  fanatical 
or  half  insane.  Whether  to  ask  him  to  ride  or  not 
was  the  question  in  his  mind.  Courtesy  said  "  Yes  ;" 
prejudice  said  "  No."  Courtesy  carried  the  day,  how- 
ever, and  the  invitation  was  given.  An  opportunity 
like  that  never  was  allowed  to  slip.  The  ride  was  not 
accounted  of  so  much  consequence,  but  there  would 
be  such  a  chance  to  press  home  truth  as  the   Master 


76  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR. 

had  that  clay  at  the  well  of  Jacob.  It  was  embraced 
to  the  uttermost,  and  one  man  heard  that  hour  salva- 
tion urged  as  he  certainly  never  had  heard  it  urged  be- 
fore. What  the  immediate  effect  was  is  not  known, 
but  a  few  months  later  this  wayside  hearer,  then  in  the 
very  prime  of  life,  came  to  know  experimentally  the 
m.eaning  of  those  words,  "  If  any  man  be  in  Christ  he 
is  a  new  creature."  Immediately  after  old  things  had 
passed  away  the  two  men  met  at  church,  and,  deeply 
moved,  clasped  hands  as  brothers  beloved  in  the  Lord. 
The  circumstances  must  be  very,  very  peculiar  if  they 
ever  hindered  him  from  pressing  religion  on  the  mind. 
He  was  not  indelicate,  or  rude,  or  blustering  in  ap- 
proaching men,  but  he  remembered  that  one  divinely 
inspired  had  said,  "  In  season,  out  of  season,  reprove, 
rebuke,  exhort,"  and  so  he  could  not  stand  "on 
the  proprieties,"  as  many  do.  Near  Fishkill  he  once 
made  a  call  that  seemed  at  first  inopportune.  A  young 
man  had  just  entered  the  house,  who  war  soon  to  be 
married  to  an  excellent  Christian  daughter  in  the 
home.  The  prospective  husband  claimed  no  hope  in 
the  Saviour.  Either  accidentally  or  purposely,  we 
know  not  which.  Uncle  John  was  shown  into  the  room 
where  the  parties  were.  He  took  in  the  situation  at  a 
glance,  but,  not  in  the  least  disconcerted,  pressed  on 
one  of  his  two  hearers  the  claims  of  God,  and  finding 
him  more  than  half  persuaded  to  accept  of  Christ,  he 
closed  the  interviev/  by  proposing  that  the  lady  should 
herself  then  and  there  kneel  and  present  the  case  of  her 
friend  to  God.     For  a  moment  maidenly  delicacy  led 


OFF  ON  FURLOUGH,  77 

her  to  hesitate  ;  then  seeing  his  evident  concern  they 
all  bowed  together,  and  she  pleaded  for  the  salvation 
of  the  man  with  whom  she  was  to  walk  the  pathway  of 
life.  He  was  soon  a  partaker  of  her  faith  and  trust, 
and  stood  beside  her  a  fellow-laborer  in  the  Church  of 
Christ. 

One  day,  v/hile  walking  from  Poughkeepsie  to  Pleas- 
ant Valley,  he  overtook  a  man  driving  an  ox-team 
along  the  road.  Walking  on  together  in  conversation 
it  was  but  a  minute  or  two  before  the  Name  that  is 
above  every  name  was  on  the  lips  of  Uncle  John,  and 
the  subject  ever  uppermost  was  broached.  With  the 
utmost  frankness,  and  with  a  trembling  voice,  the  man 
declared  that  for  weeks  he  had  been  secretly  trying  to 
grope  his  way  to  God.  He  had  said  nothing  to  any 
one,  and  no  one  had  said  anything  to  him.  All  was 
uncertainty  with  him  and  gloom.  That  Saviour  who 
"  must  needs  go  through  Samaria"  so  long  ago,  be- 
cause there  was  a  lost  soul  waiting  to  hear  words  of 
life,  sent  the  right  man  to  this  inquiring  soul  that  day. 
Uncle  John  knew  how  to  meet  a  case  like  that.  His 
words  fitted  that  penitent's  wants  as  the  notch  in  the 
arrow  is  fitted  to  the  string  of  the  archer's  bow.  The 
mode  of  a  sinner's  acceptance  was  seen  that  very  hour. 
By  the  roadside  they  knelt  in  prayer  together,  and 
then  they  parted,  this  convert,  like  one  in  the  olden 
time,  going  on  his  way  rejoicing. 

Hardly  had  they  separated  before  Uncle  John  saw  a 
man  ploughing  in  a  field  some  distance  from  the  high- 
way. All  aglow  with  the  recent  interview  the  ques- 
4* 


78  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR. 

tion  started,  "  May  I  not  find  yonder  another  such  a 
case  ?  Who  knows  ?"  Across  the  lot  he  hurried,  and 
strange  as  it  may  seem,  he  did  find  another  soul 
anxious  and  ready  to  accept  of  Christ.  In  the  freshly 
turned  furrows  the  two  knelt,  and  either  then  or  very 
soon  afterward  the  peace  of  God  entered  this  heart 
too. 

In  this  town  of  Pleasant  Valley  he  saw  some  won- 
derful triumphs  of  redeeming  love.  His  old  friend, 
Rev.  B.  F.  Wile,  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  often 
had  him,  for  a  week  or  two,  when  he  was  not  otherwise 
engaged,  to  aid  him  in  some  of  those  times  of  ingather- 
ing which  that  church  so  signally  enjoyed. 

In  the  little  Baptist  church  at  Salt  Point,  in  the  same 
town,  there  were  in  those  far-off  years  seasons  of  great- 
refreshing.  Amid  them  some  who  are  with  their  Lord 
now,  and  some  who  on  earth  are  useful  still,  started  for 
the  kingdom  and  the  crown. 

In  the  autumn  of  1862  the  section  of  country  around 
Carmel,  Putnam  County,  N.  Y.,  enjoyed  Uncle  John's 
labors  for  some  weeks,  a  very  minute  and  interesting 
account  of  which  has  been  furnished  by  Rev.  J.  J. 
Townsend,  now  of  Chester,  Vermont,  at  that  time 
studying  for  the  ministry,  but  at  home  on  a  visit. 
Only  some  extracts  from  it  can  be  given. 

**  The  evening  following  Uncle  John's  arrival  in  the 
neighborhood,  I  had  an  engagement  to  lecture  in  the 
Nichols  school-house,  and  he  met  me  there.  After  m_y 
little  talk  he  followed  in  exhortation  and  prayer.  At 
the   close   of  the  service  he  said,  '  You   are  just  the 


OFF  ON  FURLOUGH.  79 

young  man  I  am  looking  for.  Come  with  me.  The 
Master  has  work  for  you.' 

"  The  next  night  we  took  another  neighborhood, 
he  first  thoroughly  canvassing  it  by  day.  The  house 
was  crowded.  I  preached,  and  he  followed  in  an  ex- 
hortation the  most  solemn  and  subduing  I  ever  heard. 
The  Master  was  there,  and  sinners  were  crying  for  sal- 
vation before  the  meeting  closed. 

"  There  were  eight  of  these  school-districts  within 
the  bounds  of  the  Carmel  church.  From  one  to 
another  of  these  we  went,  and  he  from  house  to  house. 
God  triumphed  gloriously.  The  whole  field  glowed 
with  religious  life.  The  meetings  grew  so  large  that 
they  had  to  be  carried  to  the  church.  Pastor  Clapp 
then    supervised,    or,    as    Uncle   John    said,    became 

*  Major-General.' 

"  For  three  months  we  were  together  thus  by  day 
and  night.  One  day,  while  out  on  our  rounds,  we  saw 
a  man  in  the   field   husking  corn.       Uncle   John   said, 

*  Let  us  kneel  down  here  and  pray,  and  then  go  after 
him.*  We  did  so.  Soon  as  we  began  to  talk  with 
him  we  found  out  that  he  was  a  man  at  whose  house 
we  had  just  called.  He  had  a  wife  and  three  children, 
and  none  of  them  entertained  a  hope  of  pardoned  sin. 
He  was  invited  first  to  attend  the  meeting.  He  refused 
flatly,  declared  he  was  a  Universalist,  but  admitted 
that  he  never  prayed.  Then  Uncle  John  poured  out 
upon  him  all  the  truth  of  God.  I  never  saw  him  more 
valiant  for  his  Master,  and  think  it  was  one  of  his 
grandest  hours.     With  tears  streaming  down  his  cheeks 


So  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR. 

the  man  said,  '  Pray  for  me,*  and  down  among  the 
stalks  we  all  three  bowed,  and  all  three  prayed.  He 
and  three  others  from  his  family  were  soon  in  the 
kingdom. 

"  This  scene  is  one  of  many.  Strong  oaks  on  every 
hand  bowed  before  the  mighty  on-movings  of  God's 
all-conquering  grace. 

"  We  one  day  met  a  man  on  the  road,  resting  his 
team,  who,  on  being  approached,  loudly  avowed  him- 
self an  infidel.  So  tremendous  was  the  pressure  under 
which  Uncle  John  put  him  that  in  five  minutes,  with 
wonder  and  penitence  written  on  his  face,  he  gladly 
bowed  to  have  prayer  offered  in  his  behalf,  and  on 
arising  and  parting  he  said,  '  I  need  this  Saviour,  and 
will  seek  him.' 

"  One  evening,  as  we  were  going  into  meeting,  we 
met  a  gentleman  near  the  door.  Uncle  John  ad- 
dressed him  courteously,  and  said,  '  My  dear  friend, 
do  you  love  Jesus  ?'  Said  the  gentleman,  '  I  do  not 
know  that  that  concerns  you,  sir.'  *  Oh,  yes,  it  does,* 
said  Uncle  John  ;  '  in  these  days  of  rebellion  does  it 
not  concern  every  citizen  as  to  which  side  every  other 
citizen  may  take  ?  How  much  more  when  a  world  is  in 
rebellion  against  God  should  we  be  concerned  to  know 
who  is  on  the  Lord's  side.*  The  man's  lips  were 
sealed.  Before  the  meeting  was  over  he  rose  and 
asked  the  prayers  of  God's  people.  And  thus  it  was 
in  every  case.  I  certainly  saw  him  personally  ad- 
dress hundreds,  and  in  no  solitary  instance  was  he 
repulsed. 


OFF  ON  FURLOUGH.  Zi 

'For  myself  I  can  say  that  this  three  months' 
tuition  in  the  school  of  Christ,  with  John  Vassar  as  tu- 
tor, has  been  v/orth  more  to  me  in  winning  souls  than 
any  like  period  of  my  life.  His  religion  was  not  that 
of  sentiment,  but  a  soul-subduing  force,  fed  at  the 
fountain  of  almighty  and  undecaying  promise,  and  it 
helped  me  to  heights  before  unknown. 

"  As  we  parted,  he  to  return  to  his  home,  and  I 
to  go  back  to  Hamilton,  after  a  season  of  delightful 
prayer  he  said,  *  Good-by  ;  God  bless  you.  Keep 
looking  up,  my  boy,  keep  looking  up.' 

**  When  John  Vassar  was  removed  from  the  high 
places  of  the  field,  truly  a  great  man  had  fallen  in 
Israel.  He  to  whom  the  King  holds  out  the  sceptre, 
as  with  him,  is  an  irreparable  loss  to  any  church,  any 
community,  or  any  age." 

Now,  what  do  all  these  toils  and  triumphs  repre- 
sent ?  They  represent  homes  made  happier  ;  hearts 
blessed  with  a  heavenly  peace  ;  the  wicked  turned 
into  penitents  ;  sick-beds  solaced  with  comforts  such 
as  earth  is  powerless  to  give  ;  graves  that  had  other- 
wise been  hopeless  bordered  with  a  brighter  than 
noonday  light  ;  a  stubborn,  unbelieving  world  yield- 
ing converts  to  the  Church  ;  a  quickened  Church  shed- 
ding on  the  world  a  brightness  like  that  of  the  resurrec- 
tion morning. 

Conversion  must  be  recognized  as  a  constituent 
power  of  history.  That  deep  sorrow  for  sin,  that  clear 
and  shining  sense  of  God's  forgiveness,  that  unearthly 
peace  and  joy,  that  glowing  love  for  Christ  and  for  His 


82  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR. 

saints,  that  glad  hope  of  heaven,  that  desire  to  do 
others  good  which  we  call  "  experience"  and  the 
world  calls  "  delusion,"  all  lay  at  the  bottom  of  that 
man's  life  who  rang  out  the  old  ideas  of  Greece  and 
Rome,  and  rang  in  a  new  age  ;  they  all  lay  at  the  bot- 
tom of  that  man's  life  who  lifted  his  hand  in  the  face 
of  papal  Europe  and  gave  the  signal  for  its  disruption  ; 
they  all  lay  at  the  bottom  of  that  man's  life  who  in  a 
corrupt  nation  and  a  degenerating  Church  more  than  a 
century  ago  cried,  "The  world  is  my  parish,"  and 
went  out  to  awaken  it.  And  revivals,  what  are  they 
but  renewals  of  the  apostolic  age  ?  Even  among  good 
men  there  is  a  tendency  to  let  the  heavenly  fire  die 
out — to  let  the  immortal  vitality  and  infinite  resources 
of  our  holy  religion  go  unfelt  and  unseen.  Christ's 
churches  forget  that  they  are  to  subdue  the  world, 
and  quietly  settle  into  their  quarters,  and  then  God 
sends  some  man  with  clarion  call  to  bid  the  slumbering 
host  bestir  itself.  Doubtless  there  will  be  in  all  such 
awakenings  some  extravagances.  This  world  is  full  of 
weak,  ill-balanced,  blundering  folks.  Either  they  must 
go  unsaved,  or  else  a  miracle  more  stupendous  than 
was  ever  wrought  must  keep  them  from  acting  extrav- 
agantly. The  second  supposition  is  improbable.  The 
first  may  God  avert.  The  composure  of  death  is  worse 
than  the  exuberance  of  life.  And  we  may  be  sure 
that  without  these  arousings  that  old  Christianity  which 
gave  the  world  apostles,  and  missionaries,  and  martyrs, 
will  be  replaced  by  another  which  will  give  it  only  for- 
mal church-goers. 


OFF  ON  FURLOUGH.  83 

Nor  is  it  any  argument  against  such  seasons  of 
quickening  as  the  few  last  pages  have  been  dealing 
with,  that  much  of  their  early  promise  seems  to  be 
blasted,  and  drop  fruitlessly  away.  That  is  always  so 
with  the  literal  bud  and  bloom  which  May  days  bring. 
Multitudes  of  people  are  naturally  unstable,  and  their 
instability  will  be  likely  to  affect  the  religious  life  more 
or  less.  We  question  whether  there  is  any  ground  for 
the  prevalent  idea  that  persons  converted  in  revivals 
are  less  likely  to  "  hold  out,"  or  "hold  on."  That 
will  depend  on  what  they  have  to  "  hold  on"  to.  If 
it  is  nothing  but  a  mere  stir  of  the  sensibilities,  of 
course  they  will  drop  away.  A  very  sober  Christian 
scholar  says,  "  Let  the  spring  come,  though  it  bring 
weeds,  and  let  us  neither  nurse  the  weeds  nor  frost-bite 
the  wheat  in  our  impatience  to  keep  them  down."  It 
might  be  added,  moreover,  that  much  which  accom- 
panies a  revival  of  religion  is  not  of  itself  religious,  and 
it  will  drop  away  as  the  husk  drops  from  the  ear  of 
corn  when  ripe  ;  and  much  more  that  is  religious  is 
not  lost  when  it  seems  to  be,  but  simply  takes  on 
another  shape.  Fruit-trees  shed  their  sheets  of  blos- 
soms, and  for  a  space  thereafter  they  m.ake  but  very 
little  show.  Ignorant  cavillers  might  sneer  and  say 
that  their  May  wealth  of  promise  and  beauty  was  a 
short  -  lived  thing.  Exactly.  But  on  those  twigs 
whence  the  bloom  has  fallen  is  forming  and  maturing 
what  is  of  far  greater  worth.  And  when  the  more 
manifest  tokens  of  a  religious  awakening  disappear^ 


84  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR, 

and  the  tongue  of  unbelief  talks  merrily  and  flippantly 
about  the  change,  in  many  a  soul  there  is  quietly  de- 
veloping a  devout,  consecrated,  active  life.  Anyhow, 
many  an  eye  running  over  this  page  will  look  back 
through  mists  of  glad  tears  to  such  times  of  grace  and 
mercy,  and  many  a  heart  will  plead  for  their  repetition. 
Indeed  who  is  there  that  under  these  recitals  of  con- 
quering love  is  not  impelled  to  cry,  "  Send  as  Thou  wilt, 
O  Lord,  only  let  Thy  saints  not  slumber,  nor  sinners 
perish  in  their  sins  "  ?  For  us  as  Christian  individuals 
and  churches  to  go  year  after  year,  and  see  no  lives 
regenerated,  no  hearts  blessed  with  an  unearthly 
peace,  "  is  it  not  like  standing  among  the  gilded  bottles 
of  a  dispensary,  while  death  is  desolating  the  town  and 
your  skill  is  inapt  and  your  remedies  impotent  to  save 
a  single  victim  ?" 

We  enter  on  no  defence  of  modern  revivals  here. 
Less  than  this  in  passing,  however,  we  could  hardly 
say. 

But  by  this  time  some  one  is  ready  to  ask,  what 
was  meant  by  heading  this  chapter  "  Off  on  Fur- 
lough "  ?  They  reasonably  and  naturally  ask,  where 
the  furlough  for  Uncle  John  has  come  in  ?  Well,  if 
by  furlough  is  signified  resting  spell,  he  has  not  yet 
found  it,  nor  did  he  ever  find  it  till  the  last  months  of 
life  were  being  spent.  But  these  varied  engagements 
and  miscellaneous  services  came  in  after  retiring  from 
his  first  Tract  Society  labors,  and  before  returning  to 
its  en.ploy. 


OFF  ON  FURLOUGH.  85 

When  his  work  in  the  Dutchess  Association  closed 
he  had  sixteen  years  yet  to  stay  on  earth.  They  were 
the  most  eventful  and  fruitful  of  his  life.  He  goes 
to  work  now  on  a  broader  field.  We  will  follow  him 
there. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

GOING  TO  THE   FRONT. 

"  Lo,  a  cloud's  about  to  vanish 

From  the  day  ; 
Lo,  the  right's  about  to  conquer — 

Clear  the  way  ! 
And  a  brazen  wrong  to  crumble 

Into  clay." 

The  dark  days  of  1861  came  on.  The  nation  was 
drifting  into  war.  Few  believed  it,  however,  till  the 
blow  was  absolutely  struck.  Then  loyal  millions  arose 
and  with  one  voice  said,  "  Die  who  will  or  may,  this 
land  must  live." 

Everywhere  were  heard  the  shoutings  of  captains, 
the  rattle  of  armor,  the  tramp  of  marching  feet. 
Uncle  John  had  been  opposed  to  war.  He  had  looked 
upon  it  as  always  a  calamity,  and  frequently  a  crime. 
Again  and  again,  regarding  it  through  his  strong  affec- 
tions and  tender  sympathies,  he  had  shudderingly  cried, 
**  How  long,  O  Lord,  how  long?"  He  had  seen  in  the 
foe  defeated  and  plundered  a  man  and  a  brother.  He 
had  glimpsed  the  mutilations  and  barbarities  and  butch, 
eries  which  war  of  necessity  involved.  He  had  heard 
the  wails  of  orphanage  and  widowhood,  and  so  recoiled 
from  every  appeal  to  arms. 

But  when  the  cup  of  trembling  was  put  into  his 
country's  hands,  and  put  into  its  hands  unsought,  he 


GOING    TO    THE  FRONT.  Zy 

saw,  as  others  did,  that  whatever  its  bitterness  it  must 
not  be  pushed  away.  For  two  years  he  Hstened,  as  did 
many  heavy  hearts,  to  tidings  of  drawn  battles  or  de- 
feats. Then  he  felt  that  his  time  had  come,  and  that 
he  had  found  his  work.  It  was  not  to  serve  in  the 
ranks  :  he  was  too  old  for  that.  It  was  not  to  act  as 
an  officer  :  for  that  he  had  no  training  and  no  taste. 
Another  and  a  higher  call  was  in  his  ears.  There  were 
sick  and  suffering  men  to  be  ministered  to  temporally 
and  spiritually.  That  should  be  his  task.  He  went  to 
the  Tract  Society  again,  and  asked  if  he  could  not  have 
a  new  commission,  a  commission  to  engage  in  army 
labor.  It  was  granted  him  in  June,  1863,  and  he  was 
soon  inside  the  Federal  lines, 

*'  Amid  a  wilderness  of  graves, 
With  death  on  every  hand." 

Lee  had  started  northward  on  that  last  invasion 
which  he  ever  ventured,  and  whose  issues  half  a  dozen 
States  a  little  later  hung  breathlessly  on.  Hooker's 
army  was  in  full  pursuit.  The  excitement  was  at  white 
heat  all  over  Maryland  and  along  the  Pennsylvania 
line.  The  cloud  gathering  so  blackly  was  about  to 
break.  The  rival  hosts  drew  closer  together,  and 
finally  grappled  in  one  of  the  deadliest  struggles  of 
these  latter  days,  on  the  ridges  and  slopes  around  Get- 
tysburg. 

It  was  the  Sunday  before  the  fight.  The  old  Army 
of  the  Potomac  lay  stretched  from  Frederick  City  south- 
ward along  the  Monocacy.     The  "  One  Hundred  and 


88  VNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR. 

Fiftieth  New  York, "  of  which  the  writer  was  chaplain, 
had  camped  on  a  rough  hillside.  The  regiment  had  as 
yet  seen  but  little  service  ;  the  march  for  days  had 
been  heavy  ;  no  one  knew  what  moment  orders  might 
come  to  move  on  :  so  our  meeting  had  been  a  short 
one  and  a  small  one  that  day.  As  it  was  closing,  who 
should  come  in  but  Uncle  John  !  These  were  all 
Dutchess  County  men,  hundreds  of  whom  he  knew. 
Tired  as  they  were,  they  were  not  too  tired  to  wel- 
come him.  Moreover,  he  was  recently  from  home,  and 
to  grasp  his  hand  and  listen  to  his  voice  seemed  half  as 
good  as  being  there. 

Before  daylight  the  advance  was  sounded,  and  all 
were  tumbling  out  and  falling  into  line.  The  columns 
went  pushing  along  the  artillery-rutted  roads  as  if  on 
a  race  toward  those  Pennsylvania  hills.  Uncle  John 
was  fifty  years  old  or  more,  but  he  kept  up  with  the 
best.  Not  only  kept  up,  but  often  would  shoulder  for 
a  mile  or  two  the  gun  or  knapsack  of  some  poor  fellow 
ready  to  give  out.  We  missed  him  before  getting  to 
Gettysburg,  and  weeks  passed  before  our  men  again 
saw  his  face.  After  the  fight  was  over  he  became  sep- 
arated in  some  way  from  our  troops,  and  was  captured 
by  Stuart's  cavalry.  "  When  brought  into  the  pres- 
ence of  the  general  and  questioned  as  a  suspected  spy, 
he  instantly  dissipated  the  suspicions  of  the  officers  by 
his  frank  and  fearless  words  for  the  Master.  *  I  am 
working  as  a  colporteur  of  the  American  Tract  Society, 
to  try  and  save  the  souls  of  the  dear  boys  that  fall 
around  me  daily.     General,  do  you  love  Jesus?'     The 


GOING  TO  THE  FRONT.  89 

General  fenced  the  question  with,  *I  know  that  good  old 
Society,  and  have  no  fear  of  its  emissaries.'  *  But,  my 
dear  general,  do  you  love  Jesus  ?'  The  puzzled  officer 
was  relieved  by  the  suggestion  of  those  who  had 
arrested  Uncle  John,  and  who  were  already  restive  un- 
der his  close  questionings.  *  General,'  said  they,  *  take 
the  man's  promise  that  he  will  not  tell  of  our  where- 
abouts for  twenty-four  hours,  and  let  us  see  him  out 
of  our  lines,  or  we  will  have  a  prayer -meeting  from  here 
to  Richmond.'  And  so  it  was  decided.  He  made  his 
way  back  into  the  Union  lines,  and  was  once  more 
among  friends." 

He  was  only  inside  of  the  Confederate  camp  about 
ten  hours,  but  it  is  doubtful  whether  in  a  like  space  so 
much  Gospel  was  ever  urged  upon  the  men  he  met. 
And  their  supposition  that  he  would  have  kept  it  up 
had  he  been  held  longer  was  perfectly  correct.  Had 
he  been  put  in  the  foulest  corner  of  Libby  Prison,  or 
Castle  Thunder,  the  story  of  salvation  would  have 
rung  there  as  it  did  in  the  jail  at   Philippi  so  long  ago. 

How  he  employed  himself  in  the  army  one  of  the 
chaplains,  Rev.  E.  J.  Hamilton,  tells  us  in  a  racy  little 
sketch  of  the  man  which  he  prepared  for  publication 
while  the  war  was  yet  going  on.  "  Mark  him  as  he 
enters  camp.  In  his  cheery  way  he  says,  '  How  are 
you,  dear  boys  ?  I  am  glad  to  see  you.  I  guess  I 
have  a  little  something  for  you  ;  I  was  thinking  you 
would  be  wanting  some  paper  or  needles,  for  the  paymas- 
ter has  not  been  around  in  a  good  while,  has  he.-*  I 
cannot  carry  much,  but  just  step  up,  boys,  and  I  will 


90  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR, 

give  you  what  I  have.'  Both  his  hands  are  busy  dis- 
pensing sheets  of  paper,  and  pens,  and  thread,  with 
skilful  and  impartial  generosity.  After  these  gifts 
tracts  and  religious  reading  are  produced  from  the 
black  satchel,  and  distributed  to  many  glad  recipients. 
Now  his  stock  is  exhausted,  and  after  some  excellent 
story  or  terse  remark,  he  adds,  "  Now,  boys,  don't 
forget  the  prayer- meeting  the  chaplain  is  going  to  have 
this  evening.  Come,  dear  boys,  and  let  us  ask  God 
to  bless  us.'  'We  will,  we  will,'  is  the  response  of 
many  voices,  and  possibly  the  evening  hour  will  show 
that  the  invitation  has  been  accepted  by  many  silent, 
softened  hearts  that  did  not  dare  to  speak.  In  the 
prayer-meeting  he  is  a  great  power,  for  he  generally 
imparts  to  his  fellow-worshippers  much  of  his  own 
spirit.  I  first  met  him  in  the  log  church  of  our  brigade. 
On  that  occasion  he  moved  us  all.  After  this  I  was 
going  away  for  ten  days,  and  asked  him  to  look  after 
my  boys.  He  consented.  On  my  return  I  was  pre- 
pared for  something  of  a  revival,  but  not  to  learn  that 
the  chapel  was  crowded,  and  that  meetings  were  kept 
up  three  times  a  day.  When  I  entered  it  that  after- 
noon what  a  scene  presented  itself !  The  place  was 
half  Babel,  half  Bochim.  Many  of  the  soldiers  were 
kneeling,  some  praying,  some  sobbing,  some  groaning 
some  loudly  responding.  Uncle  John  was  seemingly 
the  most  engaged  of  all.  After  the  principal  prayer 
was  over  he  rose  and  in  his  sweet  tenor  voice  began  a 
favorite  hymn.  All  joined,  and  the  praise  went  up 
through    the  white  trembling  canvas  roof.      He  had 


GOING    TO    THE  FRONT.  91 

instituted  the  morning  assembly  for  inquirers  and 
young  converts,  that  in  the  afternoon  for  the  prayers 
and  exhortations  of  Christians  generally,  while  more 
formal  exercises  occupied  the  meeting  at  night. 

"  The  evening  service  was  the  most  important. 
Generally  there  was  a  sermon  by  one  of  the  chaplains, 
after  which  those  who  loved  the  Lord  and  those  who 
desired  to  do  so  were  requested  to  remain.  Com- 
monly very  few  went  away,  and  then  Uncle  John's 
work  began.  After  some  prayers  and  hymns  he  would 
make  a  short  address,  and  conclude  by  asking  those 
who  felt  themselves  in  need  of  salvation  and  who  desired 
Christians  to  pray  for  them  to  stand  up.  And  then 
what  earnestness  in  persuading  sinners  to  declare  for 
Christ  !  He  would  look  over  the  assembly  sometimes 
for  a  minute  till  some  one  rose.  '  There's  one,'  says 
Uncle  John,  with  visible  emotion.  '  Bless  the  Lord. 
There  is  joy  in  heaven  over  one  sinner  that  repent- 
eth.'  Then  after  a  short  pause  he  would  add  in  the 
most  inviting  tones,  *  And  is  there  no  other  precious 
soul  here  that  wants  a  Saviour  ?  Yes,  there's  an- 
other. God  bless  you,  dear  brother.  Oh,  it  was  for 
such  that  Jesus  died.  Jesus,  the  Son  of  God,'  and 
Uncle  John  would  sing, 

*  He  died  for  you, 

He  died  for  me, 
He  died  to  set  poor  sinners  free  ; 

Oh,  who's  like  Jesus 
That  died  on  the  tree  ? ' 

*'  Another  pause.      *  And  is  there  not  another  one 


92  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR. 

who  wants  to  love  this  blessed  Saviour  ?  Yes,  I  see 
you,  dear  brother.  I  knew  there  would  be  more.  I 
feel  that  God  is  here  to-night.  And  there's  another, 
and  another,  and  another.  Oh,  praise  the  Lord  ! 
Precious  Saviour,  thy  blood  cleanses  a  universe  from 
guilt.'  In  this  way  he  would  go  on  till  perhaps  a  dozen 
or  twenty  had  risen  ;  then  the  meeting  w^ould  be  dis- 
missed, and  Uncle  John  and  the  chaplains  would  tarry 
with  the  anxious,  conversing  and  praying  according  to 
the  need  of  each  individual  case. 

**  During  such  an  awakening  Uncle  John  labors 
night  and  day.  As  he  set  out  one  morning  to  follow 
the  impressions  of  the  previous  evening  I  went  with 
him  down  the  company  streets.  Entering  a  tent  where 
two  out  of  the  four  occupants  were  Christians,  he  ad- 
dressed himself  to  each  man  and  led  in  a  short  prayer. 
Then  he  asked  for  a  sergeant  whom  he  knew  to  be 
under  deep  conviction.  The  young  man  came  in. 
Uncle  John  read  the  look  of  trouble  on  his  face,  and 
sadly  and  tenderly  said,  *  O  Albert,  Albert,  my  boy, 
haven't  you  given  your  heart  to  the  Saviour  yet  ? 
What  is  the  matter?  Why  don't  you  throw  every 
thing  else  away  and  trust  only  in  the  Lord  Jesus  ? 
The  young  man  answ^ered  that  he  was  trying  to  do 
that,  but  could  not  find  any  peace.  We  all  knelt  down 
in  the  little  shanty  which  barely  held  us,  and  the  chap- 
lain led  in  prayer.  Then  Uncle  John  said,  *  Now, 
Albert,  you  pray.*  The  lad  offered  a  few  simple, 
earnest  petitions,  and  v/e  left  him.  Several  days  after- 
ward I  met  him  going  to  one  of  the  meetings  with  a 


GOING    TO    THE  FRONT.  93 

shining  face.       'Well,   Albert,'    said  I,    'how   do  you 
feel  to-day?'       'Oh,   bright    as   a  shilling,  chaplain,' 
was   the  singular  but  expressive  reply.     And   bright 
ever  since  has  been  his  Christian  character  and  course. 
"His  fidelity   is   unsparing.       'Uncle  John,'  said 
one  captain,  '  I  try  to  do  my  duty,  and  I  think  that  is 
all  that  is  required  of  me.'    '  Why,  captain,'  answered 
the  honest  man,  in  tones  of  astonishment,  '  how  can 
you  say  so  ?     No  man  does  his  duty  who  does  not  ^\yq 
his  heart   to   God,  and   live   in   God's  service.     What 
would   you    think    of   a   man   brought    up   by  a  kind 
father,  and  provided  by  him  with  every  means  of  hap- 
piness, who    should  be  a  good   brother  and   husband 
and  neighbor  and  citizen,  and  yet  be  a  heartless  and 
undutiful  son  ?    Don't  you  think  his  wickedness  would 
be  unspeakably  great  ?  '     '  But  the  cases  are  different,' 
rejoined  the   captain.      '  No,  they  are  not,'  said  Uncle 
John.      '  That  man  would  be  condemned  by  the  moral 
sense  of  the  community  ;  and  the  godless  sinner,  you 
may  depend  upon  it,  will  be  condemned  by  the  public 
opinion  of  the  universe.' 

"  Nearly  one  hundred  and  f^fty— one  tenth  of  our 
whole  brigade— professed  faith  in  Christ  during  these 
services  thus  carried  on.  Many  are  in  soldiers'  graves, 
some  are  at  home  sick  or  wounded,  some  are  in  South- 
ern prisons,  but  so  far  as  I  know  the  great  majority 
have  shown  that  their  profession  was  well  founded. 

"On  one  occasion,  I  cannot  say  whether  I  was  more 
amused  to  see  the  familiar  yet  respectful  assurance,  or 
gratified  to  witness  the  startling  directness  with  which 
5 


94  UNCLE  JOHN  VASSAR. 

he  interrogated  a  brave  colonel  whom  he  had  never  seen 
before.  A  meeting  had  been  concluded  in  front  of  the 
headquarters  tent,  and  Uncle  John  had  conversed  and 
prayed  with  a  young  man  who  had  shown  deep  convic- 
tion and  anxiety  regarding  his  sins.  Utterly  uncon- 
scious of  human  presence,  and  with  a  simplicity  and 
earnestness  which  rose  above  all  influences  of  time  and 
place,  and  surrounded  themselves  with  their  own  propri- 
eties— silence,  solemnity,  and  attention — he  knelt  with 
the  lad  in  the  midst  of  a  crowd  of  bystanders,  and  prayed 
for  him,  for  his  comrades,  for  the  officers  of  the  regi- 
ment, and  for  the  whole  army.  The  vigorous  collo- 
quial language  of  the  prayer,  and  its  particularizing 
petitions,  in  which  names  and  places  and  circumstances 
were  freely  mentioned,  interested  and  impressed  the 
hearers  of  it.  Conventionalities  plainly  had  little  to 
do  with  Uncle  John's  religion.  The  young  man  went 
away  comforted,  and  trusting  in  God  ;  and  the  crowd  dis- 
persed. Then  we  entered  the  colonel's  tent,  in  which  we 
found  one  or  two  officers  of  the  command,  together  with 
their  chief.  After  a  few  words  of  conversation  regarding 
the  history  of  the  regiment  and  its  part  in  the  summer's 
campaign,  in  which  it  had  lost  heavily,  Uncle  John  re- 
marked that  it  was  a  blessed  thing  to  have  a  hope  that 
no  bullet  or  cannon-ball  can  touch,  and  a  life  indestruc- 
tible and  immortal.  Then  turning  to  the  colonel,  he 
said,  "And  now,  colonel,  just  tell  Uncle  John  how  it  is 
with  you.  We  are  all  perishing  creatures,  and  must 
soon  be  in  eternity  together.  Have  you,  dear  colonel, 
a  good  hope  in  Christ }     Can  you  say  that  you  know 


GOING  TO  THE  FRONT.  95 

that  your  Redeemer  liveth  ?  You  will  pardon  Uncle  John 
for  asking  you ;  he  's  a  poor  dying  old  man  that  loves 
your  soul,  and  wants  it  to  be  saved."  This  appeal,  made 
rapidly,  without  any  apparent  premeditation,  and  with 
great  tact  and  tenderness,  evidently  affected  the  colonel. 
Uncle  John  proceeded  in  the  same  manner  as  before : 
"  You  know  what  I  mean.  I  do  n't  mean.  Are  you  a 
professor  of  religion }  for  there  are  many  unworthy  pro- 
fessors ;  but,  has  your  heart  been  renewed  by  grace  di- 
vine ?  That  is  the  point.  Have  you  become  a  new 
creature  in  Christ  Jesus  ?  Have  you  experienced  that 
change  of  which  our  Saviour  speaks  when  he  declares 
that  a  man  must  be  born  again  before  he  can  see  the 
kingdom  of  God  V  The  colonel  expressed  a  hope  that 
he  was  a  Christian  ;  and  Brother  Vassar  replied  that  he 
rejoiced  to  hear  him  say  so  ;  that  he  prayed  the  Lord  to 
bless  him  and  make  him  faithful  to  the  end  ;  and  that 
he  wished  before  God  that  all  our  leaders  were  earnest, 
believing  men. 

"  During  the  revival  in  the  winter  he  frequently  moved 
the  audiences  in  the  log  chapel  with  short  but  thrilling 
strains  of  extemporaneous  eloquence.  Those  of  us, 
who  were  accustomed  to  notice  mental  methods,  could 
not  but  wonder  at  the  man's  gifts.  For  myself,  I  listened 
to  passages  in  his  oratory  such  as,  I  think,  are  seldom 
heard  from  either  pulpit  or  rostrum.  His  style  at  times 
reminded  one  of  the  more  serious  and  moving  utterances 
of  Gough.  But  his  discourses  showed  more  argument 
than  is  commonly  attempted  in  those  of  that  interesting 
lecturer.      Thought   after   thought   was   presented   and 


96  UNCLE  JOHN  VASSAR, 

ilkistrated  with  admirable  though  untaught  adherence  to 
the  rules  of  art.  The  logical  order  of  the  ideas,  their 
progressive  continuity  of  impulse,  their  practical  devel- 
opment and  application,  were  faultless.  Homely  con- 
densed language,  natural  and  striking  metaphors,  unex- 
pected similes,  antithesies  and  turns  of  expression,  a 
becoming  gesticulation,  and  a  voice  wonderfully  persua- 
sive and  rich  with  sympathetic  feeling,  engaged  attention, 
awoke  the  heart's  best  emotions  and  excited  new  inter, 
est  in  the  saving  truths  of  Christianity.  The  sincere 
and  humble  earnestness  of  the  man  was  also  a  chief  ele- 
ment of  his  power.  Not  a  word  was  uttered  for  oratorical 
effect.  Every  sentence  manifested  yearning  love  for 
souls,  vivid  conceptions  of  eternal  things,  and  a  solemn 
sense  of  the  presence  of  God.  Success  too,  though  con- 
fidently looked  for,  was  expected  solely  through  the 
divine  blessing.  What  wonder  was  it  that  such  speaking 
produced  results  that  have  been  visible  ever  since? 
Those  who  have  heard  him  will  not  forget  with  what 
joyous  faith  he  sang, 

"Jesus  shall  reign  where'er  the  sun 
Does  his  successive  journeys  run ;" 

nor  how  invitingly  and  solemnly  he  rendered 

"  There  is  a  fountain  filled  with  blood, 
Drawn  from  Emmanuel's  veins  ;" 

nor  the  tenderness  of  those  lines, 

"  Come,  trembling  sinner,  in  whose  breast 
A  thousand  thoughts  revolve  ; 
Come  with  your  guilt  and  fear  oppressed, 
And  make  this  last  resolve  ;" 


GOING  TO  THE  FRONT  97 

nor  the  heartiness  of  the  verses, 

"  Come  ye  sinners,  poor  and  needy, 

Weak  and  wounded,  sick  and  sore ; 
Jesus  ready  stands  to  save  you, 
Full  of  pity,  love,  and  power." 

How  boldly  he  raised  that  Christian  battle-song, 

"  Am  I  a  soldier  of  the  cross  ?" 

What  thankfulness  and  love  he  put  into  that  grand  hymn 

"  Oh  for  a  thousand  tongues  to  sing 
My  dear  Redeemer's  praise  !" 

With  what  plaintive  melody  he  sang, 

"Did  Christ  o'er  sinners  weep? 
And  shall  my  tears  be  dry  ?" 

and  with  what  affectionate  longing, 

"Jerusalem,  my  happy  home." 
These  and  many  other  old  hymns,  and  the  tunes  which 
accompany  them,  were  weapons  of  power  with  Uncle 
John. 

During  the  early  part  of  the  summer  he  labored  in 
the  army  of  the  James,  among  the  colored  regiments,  and 
as  might  be  conjectured,  was  very  successful  in  arousing 
the  lively  African  soldiers  to  the  duties  and  attractions 
of  religion.  Nowhere  were  his  visits  more  welcome,  or 
the  results  of  his  efforts  to  lead  men  to  the  Saviour  more 
apparent,  than  among  the  colored  troops.  They  prepar- 
ed a  place  in  the  pine  woods  with  seats  and  a  stand  for 
speakers,  where  he  often  addressed  them.  From  one 
thousand  to  fifteen  hundred  souls  were  frequently  pres- 
ent at  these  meetings.  It  was  a  scene  worthy  of  a 
painter's  skill.  I  was  particularly  pleased  with  an  address 
which  he  made  one  September  evening  in  the  plaza  of 


98  UNCLE  JOHN  VASSAR. 

Fort  Davis  to  a  regiment  drawn  up  before  him  in  line. 
The  colonel  had  directed  a  notification  of  the  companies 
for  a  prayer-meeting  which  we  proposed  to  have  ;  but  the 
adjutant,  thinking,  I  presume,  to  do  the  business  thor 
oughly,  ordered  out  the  whole  command,  as  if  for  dress- 
parade.  Uncle  John  stood  with  his  hands  behind  him, 
leaning  against  a  tree  in  front  of  the  headquarters,  while 
company  after  company  filed  past  him,  faced  to  the  rear, 
and  dressed  into  correct  position.  The  men  evidently 
were  wondering  what  was  going  on  ;  and  some  of  the 
officers  seemed  to  think  that  a  joke  was  being  perpetra- 
ted on  the  chaplains  and  Uncle  John.  However,  we  were 
ready  for  the  emergency.  A  prayer-meeting  was  out  of 
the  question;  so  we  resolved  on  some  public  exercises. 
After  an  introductory  address,  a  hymn,  and  a  prayer, 
Uncle  John  was  invited  to  speak.  He  began  by  express- 
ing his  gratitude  to  the  colonel  for  that  opportunity  of 
addressing  the  officers  and  men  of  "  the  dear  old  Seventh." 
He  had  come  expecting  only  to  attend  a  prayer-meeting, 
but  was  glad  to  meet  so  many  brave  men.  As  he  looked 
on  the  faces  before  him,  and  sav/  how  very  few  were 
present  of  those  whom  he  had  seen  last  winter,  the 
thought  arose,  "  Where  were  those  brave  boys  that  left 
the  old  camp  at  B.  V  They  are  gone  ;  they  lie  on  the 
battlefields  of  the  Wilderness,  and  of  Spottsylvania,  and 
of  the  North  Anna,  and  of  Coal  Harbor — all  along  the 
way  from  the  Rapidan  to  Petersburg.  Some  are  at  home 
in  the  North,  or  in  hospitals  ;  but  how  many  occupy  their 
long,  last  home — a  soldier's  grave  !  Scarcely  one  is  left 
of  the  familiar  faces.     Ah,  well  did  he  remember  some  of 


GOING  TO  THE  FKONT,  99 

those  noble  boys  that  he  used  to  see  in  the  old  log  chapel, 
and  whom  he  should  see  never  more  on  earth.      But, 
blessed  be  God,  he  had  a  bright  hope  of  meeting  them  in 
heaven.     They  were  heroes  of  Christ,  and  of  his  cross. 
Now  they  have  fought  their  fight,  they  have  finished  their 
course,  and  they  have  received  their  crown.     Oh,  how  he 
-wished  that  every  soldier  was  a  truly  Christian  man,  and 
prepared  for  any  chance  that  might  befall  him.     He  knew 
many  brave  men  who  were  not  Christians  ;   but  it  was 
always  a  mystery  to  him  how  any  man  could  face  death 
without  a  hope  in  that  blessed  Saviour,  who  had  triumph- 
ed over  death  and  the  grave.     He  supposed  a  sense  of 
duty  would  do  much,  but  how  much  better  was  it  to  be 
sure  that  one's  soul  has  been  saved  with  an  eternal  sal- 
vation.    Then   the  king   of   terrors   is   dethroned,   and 
death  becomes  the  gate  of  heaven.      Did  you  ever  think, 
he  asked,  against  what  love  you  offend  while  you  remain 
unreconciled   to   God.?      Oh,  it   filled  all    heaven   with 
wonder,  when  God's  glorious  Son  took  on  him  our  salva- 
tion, and  offered  himself  for  our  sins.     Never  was  love 
like  His  love.      How  can  you  refuse  your  hearts  to  that 
loving,  dying  Saviour  t      Surely  you  will  not  suffer  it  to 
be  that  Christ  should  have  died  for  you  in  vain. 

"The  Son  of  God  in  tears. 
Angels  with  wonder  see  ; 
Be  thou  astonished,  O  my  soul, 
He  shed  those  tears  for  thee. 

"  He  wept  that  we  might  weep ; 
Each  sin  demands  a  tear. 
In  heaven  alone  no  sin  is  found, 
And  there  's  no  weeping  there." 


loo  UNCLE  JOHN  VASSAR, 

Dear  soldiers,  if  I  know  my  own  heart,  I  earnestly  desire 
the  welfare  of  you  all.  God  knows  that  I  love  you,  and 
want  to  see  you  happy.  And  when  I  think  of  the 
fatigues  and  exposures  and  dangers  which  soldiers  must 
undergo,  oh,  how  I  wish  to  have  them  sustained  and 
comforted  by  the  hopes  and  consolations  of  the  gospel. 
I  would  that  every  one  of  you  had  a  sure  title  to  a  man- 
sion in  the  skies.  I  would  that  you  could  all  look  from 
these  scenes  of  conflict  and  suffering  and  death  to  that 
blessed  land  where  there  is  war  no  more.  Oh,  yes  ;  no 
whistling  minie  ball,  no  bursting  Parrot  shell  shall  dis- 
turb the  peaceful  inhabitants  of  that  heavenly  country. 
In  that  land  there  shall  be  rest  for  the  weary  ;  pain  and 
grief  shall  not  enter  there : 

"  No  groans  shall  mingle  with  the  son<:;s 
That  warble  from  immortal  tongues." 

Now  let  me  say  a  few  words  to  those  of  you  who  are 
Christians.  Dear  brethren,  you  are  surrounded  by 
temptations  ;  but  strive  to  live  faithfully  ;  hold  fast  your 
profession  ;  let  no  man  rob  you  of  your  crown.  Trust 
not  in  yourselves,  but  in  One  who  is  mighty.  Keep 
looking  up  to  Jesus,  and  you  will  be  conquerors,  and 
more  than  conquerors,  through  him  who  loves  you. 
Recently,  by  the  bedside  of  a  dear  corporal  that  formerly 
belonged  to  your  regiment,  but  who  now  sleeps  in  Jesus, 
I  felt  what  truth,  what  power  there  is  in  the  religion  of 
Christ.  All  was  peace  with  him,  perfect  peace.  He 
knew  that  he  was  dying ;  but  he  rejoiced  in  the  hope  of 
a  better  life,  in  the  sure  prospect  of  a  glorious  immortal- 
ity.    "  Oh,  let  me  die  the  death  of  the  righteous,  and  let 


GOING  TO  THE  FRONT. 


lOI 


my  last  end  be  like  his."  And  as  for  you,  dear  friends, 
who  are  without  Christ,  will  you  not  seek  an  interest  in 
his  salvation  ?  Will  you  not  begin  to  love  and  serve  that 
Redeemer  who  can  save  and  bless  you  for  ever  ?  Yes, 
Jesus  is  the  Saviour  that  you  need. 

"None  but  Jesus, 
None  but  Jesus 
Can  do  helpless  sinners  good." 

Oh,  then,  do  not  hesitate.  To-morrow  may  be  too  late. 
Who  knows  how  soon  the  bolt  of  death  may  come.? 
Now,  while  it  is  called  to-day,  give  your  hearts  to  God, 
and  kneel  before  him  in  penitence  and  prayer.  Dear 
soldiers,  I  thank  you  for  the  kind  attention  with  which 
you  have  listened  to  me.  May  the  Lord  bless  you  all, 
and  bring  you  to  his  heavenly  kingdom. 

Such,  as  nearly  as  memory  serves  me,  was  the  course 
of  thought  and  style  of  language  employed  by  Uncle 
John.  But  the  sketch  can  give  no  adequate  idea  of  the 
living  power  with  which  he  spoke.  His  allusions  to  the 
uncertainty  of  life  and  the  nearness  of  death  had  a  pecu- 
liar significance  with  those  whom  he  addressed.  Several 
of  their  number  had  been  instantaneously  killed,  not  long 
before,  on  the  picket  line  in  front  of  the  fort ;  and  a  day 
or  two  subsequently  to  our  meeting,  one  poor  lad  was 
struck  by  a  minie  ball  and  died  in  five  minutes,  a  few 
paces  from  the  spot  where  he  had  listened  to  Uncle  John. 
The  summer's  campaign  had  made  us  all  too  much  ac- 
customed to  these  things." 

Rev.  J.  H.   Twitchell,  of  the  Asylum  Hill  Congre- 
gational Church,  Hartford,  Conn.,  who  as  chaplain  was 
also  thrown  into  such  contact  with  him  in  the  army,  in 
5* 


102  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR. 

a  sermon  to  his  people  after  the  death  of  Uncle  John 
recalls  many  interesting  incidents.  We  can  quote  but 
a  few. 

"  One  evening  a  fellow-chaplain  brought  him  to  my 
tent.  We  had  not  met  before.  At  once  he  burst  out 
in  such  a  strain  of  religious  conversation  as  I  had 
never  heard.  At  first  I  was  repelled.  It  seemed  cant- 
ing and  extravagant.  I  could  not  believe  it  was  genu- 
ine. But  that  suspicion  did  not  last  long.  I  soon  saw 
that  what  he  said,  and  his  way  of  saying  it,  was  the  true 
utterance  of  the  man.  I  cannot  altogether  describe 
the  impression  he  made.  I  know  that  when  he  left  I 
followed  him  out  and  yielded  to  the  impulse  that  was 
strongly  upon  me  to  tell  him  I  feared  I  knew  but  very 
little  of  what  it  was  to  be  spiritually  blessed,  and  to 
ask  him  to  pray  for  me.  His  riches  convicted  me 
of  poverty.  And  I  have  heard  a  good  many  say  that 
meeting  him  produced  a  like  effect  on  them.  There 
was  a  Unitarian  chaplain  amongst  us  who  confessed 
that  Mr.  Vassar  was  a  new  exhibition  of  Christianity  to 
him. 

"  In  a  merely  physical  point  of  view  his  achieve- 
ment was  prodigious.  He  began  his  day  at  roll-call, 
and  was  in  a  state  of  intense  activity  from  sixteen  to 
eighteen  hours.  He  ate  little,  and  slept  little,  yet 
never  flagged,  and  never  gave  out.  Week  after  week, 
and  seven  days  in  the  week,  the  same  even  high  rate 
of  energy  was  sustained.  I  suppose  there  were  very 
few  of  the  eight  thousand  officers  and  men  of  our  di- 
vision with  whom  in  the  time  he  was  with  us  he  did 


GOING    TO    THE  FRONT.  103 

not  talk,  and  with  the  majority  of  them  more  than  once 
or  twice.  I  used  to  see  him  running  in  his  eagerness 
to  get  about.  Yet  he  was  as  far  as  possible  from  being 
in  a  flurry.  His  restlessness  was  wholly  external. 
He  always  knew  exactly  what  he  was  after.  His  ob- 
jects were  distinctly  before  him. 

"  Conversing  v/ith  from  seventy-five  to  a  hundred 
different  men  a  day,  he  came  to  the  fiftieth  or  sixtieth 
just  as  fresh  in  his  manner,  just  as  much  interested, 
just  as  tender,  as  at  the  first.  He  wasted  no  words. 
He  went  right  to  the  heart  of  his  errand  at  once,  and 
his  bearing  was  such  that  it  was  hardly  possible  to  take 
offence.  Indeed  it  was  said,  and  I  think  truly,  that  in 
the  entire  division  he  never  met  with  but  one  positive 
rebuff,  and  that  in  the  case  of  an  officer  in  liquor. 
And  the  reason  was,  he  v/as  entirely  self- renounced,  and 
showed  it.  He  represented  the  yearning  heart  of  Christ. 
It  was  almost  magical  the  power  he  had  over  men.  One 
of  our  chaplains,  taking  him  to  dine  with  him  one  day, 
found  no  member  of  his  mess  present  beside  himself 
but  the  colonel.  Nov/  this  colonel  was  irreligious, 
immoral  and  low-bred,  and  the  chaplain  feared  to 
have  Mr.  Vassar  say  any  thing  to  him,  and  I  think  had 
advised  him  to  that  effect.  For  a  little  while  the  earn- 
est man  held  his  peace  ;  then  pausing  from  his  eating, 
said,  '  My  dear  colonel,  this  is  the  first  time  I  ever  saw 
you,  and  perhaps  we  shall  never  meet  again.  I  am 
sure  you  will  not  think  it  amiss  if  I  ask  you  whether 
you  have  an  interest  in  the  great  salvation  ? '  The 
chaplain's  heart  leaped  up  into  his  mouth.     He  ex- 


104  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR. 

pected  an  explosion  ;  but  to  his  surprise  the  colonel 
answered  the  question  as  simply  as  it  was  asked,  and 
with  entire  civility,  and  even  thanked  him  for  express- 
ing such  interest  in  his  welfare.  Dinner  over,  the 
colonel  said,  *  Sir,  would  you  like  to  talk  to  the  men  ? ' 
Of  course  Uncle  John  said  Yes,  and  the  colonel  abso- 
lutely spent  half  the  afternoon  in  walking  with  him 
through  the  regiment,  and  introducing  him  to  knots  of 
soldiers  here  and  there,  with,  *  Here's  a  gentleman  who 
has  something  to  say  to  you,  and  you  had  better  listen 
to  him,  for  I  think  he  is  a  good  man.'  The  chaplain 
followed  them  around  in  amazement,  and  could  scarce- 
ly credit  his  senses.  The  colonel  was  not  converted, 
but  for  the  time  he  was  subdued. 

**  And  so  he  passed  around  among  us  for  a  whole 
season,  uttering  one  voice  continually — the  voice  of  the 
invitations  of  divine  love.  It  used  to  be  said  that  he 
left  the  print  of  his  knees  in  every  company  street  of 
our  division.  If  this  was  not  literally  true  it  was  essen- 
tially  so. 

"  Such  a  ministry  could  not  fail  to  be  fruitful. 
Upon  hundreds,  probably  upon  thousands,  of  men  he 
made  his  mark  for  eternity.  Dear  old  man  !  How  he 
loved,  and  how  he  was  loved  for  Christ's  sake  !  There 
were  joy  and  sorrow  in  all  hearts  when  he  parted  from 
us.  And  when,  as  we  were  met  together  in  our  log 
chapel  the  evening  after  he  bade  us  good-by,  one  of 
our  soldiers — a  Methodist — prayed  in  stentorian  tones, 
'  O  Lord,  ive  thank  Thee  for  sending  dear  Uncle  John 
Vassar  to  us,  and  may  God  bless  him  ivherever  he  goes,* 


GOING    TO    THE  FRONT.  ,05 

a  chorus  of  amens  responded,  and  I  saw  the  tears  fall- 
ing on  many  a  rugged  cheek.  It  is  my  conviction  that 
few  more  gracious  spirits  have  been  given  to  the 
church  of  Christ  in  any  age  than  he.  The  last  day 
alone  will  reveal  how  much  good  he  did." 

Professor  G.  D.  B.  Pepper,  D.D.,  of  Crozer  Theo* 
logical  Seminary,  sends  these  reminiscences  of  war 
days  : 

"  I  met  your  Uncle  for  the  first  time  at  Alexandria, 
Va.,  in  the  winter  of  1863-64.  I  had  gone  there  to 
serve  the  Christian  commission  as  delegate  for  the  term 
of  six  weeks,  and  to  their  headquarters  Uncle  John 
delighted  as  often  as  practicable  to  resort  for  Christian 
fellowship.  We  saw  him,  however,  far  less  frequently 
than  we  desired,  for  he  was  incessantly  and  intensely 
active  wherever  soldiers  could  be  found.  At  the  '  Sol- 
dier's Rest,'  the  'Teamster's  Park, '  the  'Ambulance 
Stand,'  the  '  Slave  Pen,'  '  Detached  Regiments,' 
'  Garrisons  of  Neighboring  Forts  ' — anywhere,  every- 
where, untiringly  he  went.  Though  laboring  specially 
for  the  Tract  Society,  he  worked  as  cordially  with  the 
delegates  of  the  Commission  as  though  he  had  been 
one  of  them.  Indeed,  so  full  was  he  of  Christ  that  he 
became  at  once  identified  with  every  Christian  spirit 
met  by  him,  and  identified  with  all  and  every  Christian 
work.  Firm  in  avowing  and  maintaining  his  distinctive 
denominational  views  when  occasion  required,  neither 
these  views  nor  their  maintenance  served  as  a  wall  or 
even  bar  of  separation  from  any  person  or  thing  that 
was  lovely  and  of  good   report.     He  was  as  intensely 


jo6  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR. 

and  completely  catholic  in  heart  and  word  and  life,  as 
he  was  intensely  earnest  in  his  convictions  and  their 
realizations. 

**  More  than  any  other  man  whom  I  ever  met,  or  ever 
expect  to  meet.  Uncle  John  excelled  in  the  power  of 
free,  ready,  wise  approach  to,  and  entrance  into,  the 
hearts  of  men  with  personal  religious  messages.  Herein 
he  was  no  respecter  of  persons.  Professor  or  non-pro- 
fessor, privates  or  officers,  black  or  white,  it  mattered 
not  to  him.  Enough  that  all  were  men,  and  his  Mas- 
ter was  the  Master  of  all,  and  had  sent  him,  John  Vas- 
sar,  as  His  servant  and  representative  to  all.  Not  only 
was  he  not  a  respecter  of  men,  but  just  as  little  was  he 
a  respecter  of  times,  places,  or  occasions,  save  to  ob- 
serve those  proprieties  which  few  better  understood. 
But  he  held  that  all  times,  and  all  places,  and  all  occa- 
sions were  the  Lord's,  not  less  than  all  men,  and  it  was 
never  in  his  purpose  or  practice  to  yield  God's  claims 
to  the  claims  of  men  or  devils. 

"  Yet  I  never  knew  that  he  gave  to  any  man  offence 
by  this  forwardness.  He  had  such  self-revealing, 
overflowing,  outgushing,  all-conquering  good-will  and 
Christian  love,  such  natural  freedom,  heartiness,  and 
geniality,  all  elevated  and  glorified  by  his  deep  Chris- 
tian experience,  and  also  so  much  of  childlike  sim- 
plicity along  with  the  wise  tact  and  address  perfected 
by  years  of  incessant  labor,  that  he  would  have  been  a 
strange  man  indeed  who  v/ould  not  have  opened  all  the 
doors  of  his  heart  to  Uncle  John,  and  told  the  dear  old 


GOING  TO  THE  FRONT.  107 

saint  to  make  himself  perfectly  at  home,  and  do  and 
say  just  what  he  pleased. 

"  But  while  all  recognized  in  him  a  true  friend,  no 
one  could  ever  make  him  a  mere  '  hail  fellow,  well  met.' 
His  dealings  were  always  in  the  clear  view  of  a  hasten- 
ing eternity  and  its  tremendous  realities.  Herein  he 
was  a  pattern  to  all  chaplains,  but  certainly  not  a  pattern 
after  all. 

"I  have  a  very  vivid  remembrance  of  one  night's 
experience  with  him  in  a  revival  meeting  which  was 
held  at  the  quarters  of  '  The  Fourth  Delaware,'  but  rather 
on  my  own  account  than  on  his.  He  had  for  seve- 
ral nights  taken  long  walks  out  from  the  city  to  aid 
the  chaplain,  and  had  expressed  the  special  desire  for 
me  to  go  with  him  some  evening.  I  complied  with  the 
request  at  the  first  opportunity.  The  meeting  tent  was 
crowded.  The  opening  hymn  was  rung  out  with 
mighty  power — of  lungs  at  least.  Uncle  John  then  in- 
troduced me  to  lead  in  prayer.  I  thought  to  lead,  but 
soon  found  a  multitude  praying  thunderously,  each  his 
own  separate  prayer.  Of  course  I  observed,  not  en- 
joyed, a  short  season  of  private  devotion,  v/hose  end 
was  as  unnoticed  by  the  crowd  as  had  been  its  continu- 
ance. Uncle  John  was  busy  with  inquirers  amid  this 
tempest  of  vociferous  exercises.  It  was  nothing  to 
him  what  form  expression  took,  if  he  could  only  find 
sinners  seeking  a  Saviour,  or  any  one  needing  advice 
or  encouragement.  Of  course  I  was  a  spectator  un- 
able to  adjust  myself  to  the  turmoil.  At  length  in 
the  midst  of  the  meeting  my  dear  old   friend   came 


io8  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR. 

round  to  me  and  said,  '  Come,  Brother  Pepper,  come 
up  here  in  front  ;  there's  a  little  lull  in  the  meeting 
now,  and  I  want  you  to  speak  to  the  boys. '  '  All 
right,*  I  said,  and  went  with  him.  He  shouted  to 
them  a  kindly  introduction  of  me,  and  asked  them  to 
listen  to  his  friend  whom  he  had  brought  along.  But 
even  then  there  was  07ily  '  a  little  lull  '  in  the  storm. 
I  stood  for  half  a  minute  looking  at  my  audience — 
ah,  not  audience — awaiting  silence,  when  a  towering 
shouter  just  in  front,  with  evident  disgust  at  this  tri- 
fling, this  waste  of  holy  time,  at  once  burst  into  a  yell 
of  petition,  adoration,  or  something  else,  and  I  in  dis- 
honor fled  to  a  corner  of  the  tent. 

"  In  such  a  scene,  or  any  other,  that  burning  spirit 
wrought  on  doing  the  *  one  thing  '  needful.  Blessed 
is  he.      Blessed  is  his  memory. " 

Among  the  Christian  officers  who  greatly  helped 
him,  and  whom  he  regarded  as  a  brother  in  the  Lord, 
was  General  McAllister,  of  whom  he  makes  frequent 
mention  in  his  correspondence  and  reports. 

This  testimony  General  McAllister  now  sends  con- 
cerning him  : 

"  He  was  a  man  for  whom  I  had  the  highest  es- 
teem and  the  sincerest  afTection  ;  so  I  gladly  send  this 
slight  tribute  to  his  worth. 

''  He  was  constantly  going  from  regiment  to  regi- 
ment, from  tent  to  tent,  relieving  both  the  temporal 
and  spiritual  wants  of  the  soldiers.  When  he  had  been 
absent  for  a  time  and  returned,  there  was  great  rejoic- 
ing among  ofHcers  and  men  that  Uncle  John  was  back. 


GOING    TO    THE  FRONT.  109 

"  Upon  applying  at  headquarters  for  permission  to 
hold  meetings,  the  answer  always  was,  '  Go  ahead. 
We  know  you  are  all  right. ' 

**  In  his  frequent  visits  to  my  tent  we  had  many 
pleasant  conversations  about  the  war  and  the  religious 
condition  of  the  army,  and  the  intense  patriot,  as  well 
as  intense  Christian,  shone  out  in  them  all. 

"  It  was  his  custom  before  leaving  always  to  pray 
with  us,  and  in  his  prayer  each  individual  present  was 
mentioned.  One  of  my  officers  who  was  frequently 
with  us  said,  '  I  can  stand  up  under  any  man's  pray- 
ers but  Uncle  John  Vassar's.' 

"  During  the  winter  of  1863-64  there  was  a  great 
revival,  and  especially  in  the  Third  Corps.  Meetings 
were  held  nightly,  and  thousands  were  converted. 
Often,  not  knowing  that  Uncle  John  was  present,  I 
would  be  surprised  to  hear  his  voice  from  the  rear  of 
the  chapel  in  exhortation.  Perhaps  that  would  be  the 
sixth  meeting  that  he  had  attended  that  evening." 

His  good  friend.  Colonel  A.  B.  Smith,  of  Pough- 
keepsie,  then  Major  of  the  150th  New  York,  furnishes 
this  sketch  : 

**  We  were  visited  by  Uncle  John  several  times, 
and  he  was  always  welcome  to  a  part  of  my  tent.  He 
was  unremitting  in  ministering  to  the  sick  and  disabled. 
I  knew  him  once  to  carry  a  box  as  large  as  a  good-sized 
trunk  nearly  three  miles  on  his  back,  filled  with  delica- 
cies for  our  sick  and  suffering  men.  He  was  ubiquitous 
in  the  army.  Came  often,  and  always  left  his  mark  for 
the  Master  on  every  one  he  met.     He  waited  for  no 


no  UNCLE  JOHN   VASSAL. 

formalities.  His  first  remark  would  be,  *  I  hope  this 
loyal  blue  covers  a  heart  loyal  to  the  Lord  Jesus.  He 
is  the  best  friend  a  soldier  can  have.  Tell  me,  is  he 
your  friend  ?  Come  over  to  the  prayer-meeting  to- 
night.' 

"  On  Sunday,  the  9th  day  of  August,  1863,  we  were 
at  Kelly's  Ford,  and  Uncle  John  came  to  us  and 
said,  '  Shall  we  not  have  a  little  prayer-meeting  to- 
night about  sundown  between  the  150th  New  York  and 
13th  New  Jersey  regiments  ?  '  It  was  agreed  upon.  He 
was  the  only  man  in  citizen's  clothes  in  all  the  Twelfth 
Corps.  All  our  chaplains  were  away  sick  or  in  hos- 
pitals, and  a  hundred  or  two  gathered  at  the  appointed 
time.  We  sat  around  or  kneeled  upon  the  ground,  and 
Uncle  John  prayed  as  he  only  could  pray.  The  meet- 
ing was  going  pleasantly  on  when  a  soldier  from  Gen- 
eral Ruger's  headquarters  stepped  into  the  circle,  and 
touching  Uncle  John,  said,  *  The  general  wants  you.* 
Not  the  least  confused,  he  said,  *  Boys,  go  right  on  ; 
the  general  wants  to  see  me,*  and  he  marched  at  the 
side  of  the  soldier  a  prisoner  over  to  the  headquarters 
of  the  brigade  twenty  rods  or  more  away.  He  was 
there  accosted  with  the  rough  inquiry,  *  Who  are  you, 
and  what  are  you  here  for  ?  You  are  not  the  chaplain 
of  either  of  those  regiments.  We  shot  a  man  as  a  spy 
who  came  into  our  camp  as  you  have  come  to-day. 
By  whose  authority  are  you  here  ?  '  *  Oh,  I  know  the 
whole  of  the  150th  Regiment,'  said  Uncle  John.  *I 
am  an  agent  of  the  American  Tract  Society,  and  have 
a  pass  through  the  whole  army  of  the  Potomac  from 


fll^^H 

m^._ 

^^aBHWp 

\.,.^- 

^iM 

. 

:IP 

THB   GBNi5RAI.'S   HEADQUARTERS 

GOING    TO    THE  FRONT.  rir 

General  Patrick  and  President  Lincoln.  And  now, 
General,  do  you  love  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  ?  We  can 
have  a  little  season  of  prayer  right  here.'  'No,  no,' 
said  General  Ruger.  '  Here,  orderly,  take  this  man 
back,  and  I  will  see  Colonel  Ketcham  about  him.*  So 
Uncle  John  was  back  before  the  meeting  ended,  and  it 
proved  one  of  the  best  meetings  I  ever  attended  in  the 
army. 

"  On  the  resignation  of  our  chaplain,  Rev.  T.  E. 
Vassar,  his  Uncle  John  was  unanimously  elected  to  fill 
the  vacancy.  Army  regulations,  however,  required 
that  a  chaplain  should  be  an  ordained  minister,  v/hich 
he  was  not.  A  strong  letter  from  the  officers  of  the 
regiment  was  sent  to  his  church  at  Poughkeepsie,  urging 
them  to  call  a  council  for  Uncle  John's  ordination,  he 
having  been  licensed  as  a  preacher  some  time  before. 
He  went  home  to  take  counsel  touching  the  step,  and 
found  his  church  fully  ready  to  proceed.  Some  out- 
side parties,  however — and  some  who  ought  to  have 
been  the  last  to  whisper  it — hinted  to  him  that  he  was 
looking  to  the  chaplaincy  from  sordid  motives,  the  de- 
sire for  paltry  pelf.  That  settled  the  question.  Of  all 
men  he  was  the  last  to  deserve  a  thrust  like  that.  If 
ever  there  lived  an  utterly  unselfish  soul  it  was  he. 
But  he  would  not  put  himself  where  his  influence 
might  be  injured  by  such  an  iniputation.  Back  he 
went  to  his  old  work  at  twenty-five  dollars  a  month, 
instead  of  a  chaplain's  hundred  and  twenty-five, 
the  same  loving,  busy,  devoted  soul  that  he  was  be- 
fore.    Our  Tv/elfth  Corps  was  then  sent  to  the  West 


112  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR. 

and  South-west  to  follow  Sherman  to  the  sea,  and  we 
never  had  Uncle  John  with  us  again.  He  sent  us, 
however,  occasional  letters  still,  and  among  those  who 
survive  and  remember  those  days  his  memory  is  sweet. 

"I  have  known  the  man  since  1851,  and  only  to 
love  and  almost  adore  him  as  the  most  perfect  exem- 
plifier  of  Christ  whom  I  ever  knew.  He  was  one  of 
God's  own  noblemen.  Disciplined,  tried,  purified,  he 
shone  like  burnished  gold.  Often  I  heard  unbelieving 
officers  say  that  if  they  could  have  a  religion  such  as 
his  they  would  prize  it  above  all  price.  What  he  suf- 
fered and  endured  in  serving  Christ  and  his  fellow-men, 
and  what  the  grand  results,  the  eternal  day  must  be 
left  to  tell." 

Rev.  E.  Owen,  of  Wyoming  County,  N.  Y.,  has 
something  to  give  us  concerning  these  same  years.  ' '  My 
first  acquaintance  with  him  was  at  Alexandria,  Va., 
during  the  war,  where  I  was  then  engaged  as  Superin- 
tendent of  the  Freedmen's  Bureau.  It  was  the  day 
after  I  received  the  intelligence  that  my  son  had 
been  killed  in  the  army.  Feeling  the  need  of  a  human 
sympathizer,  after  pouring  out  my  grief  to  the  Friend 
above,  I  went  in  the  suburbs  to  look  him  up.  His 
heart,  like  mine,  was  bleeding,  for  he  had  just  heard  of 
the  loss  of  a  dear  Christian  nephew,  a  staff  officer  of 
Banks',  in  Texas,  who  had  recently  been  drowned.^ 
Common  grief  cemented  our  hearts  from  that  very 
hour. 

*  Lieutenant  A.   H.  Vassar,  of   the    Thirteenth    Regiment,    Corps 
d'Afrique,  drowned  on  duty  near  Point  Isabel,  February  6th,  1S64. 


GOING    TO    THE  FRONT.  113 

*' After  that,  as  he  passed  back  and  forth  in  his 
work,  we  were  glad  to  have  him  drop  in  for  a  few  min- 
utes at  our  home,  or  spend  occasionally  a  night. 
Those  were  precious  hours.  There  would  be  intervals 
during  which  he  would  wake  from  sleep  for  a  few  min- 
utes, and  the  first  conscious  breath  would  be  prayer 
and  praise.  Soon  as  ever  the  day  dawned  we  would  hear 
him  say,  *  Come,  brethren,  let  us  be  up  and  about  the 
Master's  work.'  In  connection  with  no  life  have  I  been 
so  deeply  impressed  with  the  truth  of  that  expression, 

'  Prayer  is  the  Christian's  vital  breath.' 
He  seemed  greatly  to  enjoy  the  social  hour,  but  if 
conversation  was  leading  off  the  track,  he  would  ex- 
claim, *  Brethren,  we  must  keep  praying,'  and  forth- 
with drop  down  upon  his  knees,  and  draw  all  wander- 
ing thoughts  back  to  God  and  duty  at  the  mercy  seat. 
One  remarkable  feature  of  his  prayers,  and  which, 
apart  from  their  special  unction,  made  them  so  inter- 
esting, was  the  fact  that  he  remembered  the  names 
and  condition  of  those  whom  he  had  met,  and  formed 
them  into  petitions  so  forcible  and  appropriate  as  to 
give  his  supplications  a  freshness  and  variety  seldom 
witnessed,  and  to  fasten  them  as  a  nail  in  a  sure  place 
to  produce  effects  likely  to  be  lasting. 

"  After  taking  his  long  and  weary  tramps  from 
regiment  to  regiment,  literally  loaded  with  books, 
tracts,  papers,  and  other  necessaries  for  the  soldiers, 
he  would  sometimes  return  with  his  shoe-soles  worn 
through  to  the  very  feet,  but  he  scorned  to  rest  while 
the  neccessities  of  the  times  were  so  great." 


114  UNCLE  JOHN  VASSAR, 

A  chaplain  writes : 

*'  His  journeyings  called  into  play  his  powers  as  a 
pedestrian,  which  were  most  extraordinary.  He  thought 
nothing  of  a  stretch  of  eight  or  ten  miles ;  and  one  hot 
summer  day  I  knew  him  to  walk  fifteen  miles  and  back 
again,  with  very  little  appearance  of  fatigue.  It  would 
be  difficult,  perhaps  impossible,  to  find  another  man 
in  the  country  as  well  qualified  as  he  was  for  religious 
labor  among  soldiers,  at  least  for  that  kind  of  labor 
which  Uncle  John  performed.  And  certainly  no  one 
could  enter  upon  such  work  with  more  self-devoting  zeal 
than  that  which  animated  this  singularly-gifted  man. 

"  When  I  think  of  Uncle  John  as  a  ready  and  mighty 
laborer  in  the  cause  of  man's  regeneration,  and  compare 
him  with  what  he  was,  the  lively  and  driving  manager 
of  work  in  a  brewery,  I  exclaim,  *  How  powerful  is  the 
grace  of  God ;  what  changes  it  can  effect ;  how  marvel- 
lously it  fashions  the  most  unlikely  materials  into  blessed 
instrumentalities  of  good  !'  Under  its  influence,  abilities 
and  habits  developed  in  a  life  of  eager  worldliness  are 
employed  with  singular  efficiency  in  the  pursuit  of 
heavenly  objects ;  the  want  of  early  preparation  and  in- 
struction is  compensated  by  the  improvement  of  a  de- 
voted mind ;  and  a  holy  consecration  of  purpose  is 
unflinchingly  sustained  for  years,  and  crowned  with 
ever  increasing  success.  Such  an  instance  is  rare  ;  so 
that  none  should  presume  to  squander  precious  time  in 
the  hope  of  future  faithfulness ;  but  what  encourage- 
ment it  contains  for  those,  of  whatever  age  or  condition 
of  life,  who  feel  themselves  called  to  some  special  depart- 
ment of  the  service  of  God." 


GOING  TO  THE  FRONT.  115 

But  it  Is  time  we  let  the  intrepid  toiler  tell  us  a 
little  concerning  his  work,  and  tell  it  in  his  own  words. 
There  are  letters  and  reports  in  his  handwriting  which 
would  fill  a  volume  such  as  this  touching  the  labors 
of  these  days. 

When  in  the  autumn  of  1863  the  advance  on  the 
Rapidan  was  made,  he  says  : 

"  We  followed  the  poor  boys  out  part  of  the  way 
to  the  Rappahannock,  and  as  they  cried,  *  Good-by, 
Uncle  John,'  the  big  tears  rolled  down  many  of  their 
cheeks.  We  felt  deeply  for  them,  and  soon  the  roar 
of  cannon  told  us  they  had  met  the  enemy  in  mortal 
combat.  In  the  morning  ambulances  of  wounded  men 
came  in  calling  for  food  and  nursing.  We  joined  the 
Christian  Commission  in  its  labor  of  love  for  two  days, 
and  passed  through  many  affecting  scenes." 

A  month  later  he  is  back  at  Alexandria  in  the 
**  Soldiers'  Rest,"  and  thence  he  writes  :  "I  have 
helped  in  two  meetings  a  night  for  some  time.  The 
attendance  is  large,  and  many  are  serious,  while  a  few 
have  confessed  Christ." 

Here  he  meets  the  venerable  Jeremiah  H.  Taylor, 
of  Connecticut,  a  brother  of  James  Brainerd  Taylor,  of 
saintly  memory,  a  man  v/ho  as  this  sentence  is  flowing 
from  the  pen  is  entering  on  his  eighty-third  year,  but 
was  then  laboring  for  the  bodies  and  souls  of  the 
soldiers  with  great  diligence  and  success.  These  mis- 
sionaries, thus  brought  together,  were  true  yoke-fel- 
lows,  and  when  the  younger  entered   upon  rest   the 


ii6  UNCLE  JOHN  VASSAR. 

elder  toiler  traced  with  trembling  hand  this  testimony 
to  his  departed  friend. 

"It  was  my  blessed  privilege  to  be  a  fellow-laborer 
with  this  dear  brother  in  the  war.  I  never  saw  one  on 
whose  tongue  the  precious  name  of  Jesus  dwelt  so  much. 
It  was  the  key-note  to  every  utterance,  it  was  the  main- 
spring of  all  toil.  How  he  unites  now  in  that  anthem  of 
Paradise  'unto  Him  who  loved  us.*" 

To  which  another  adds :  "  No  quiet  for  him  even  in 
heaven.  He  used  to  tell  the  people  who  were  so  fearful 
of  excitement  in  religious  services,  that  they  would  not 
be  still  after  they  left  this  world,  for  all  heaven  resounded 
with  hallelujahs."  *'  Oh,  what  a  great,  gentle,  strong, 
sweet  soul  he  was!"  writes  one  who  is  elsewhere  quoted. 
**  How  near  he  kept  that  soul  to  God,  Avherever  he  was,  if 
the  slightest  shadow  or  sense  of  enfeeblement  came  over 
his  spirit,  he  would  stop  short  and  gird  up  the  loins  of 
his  mind  by  an  appeal  of  childlike  faith,  an  act  of  fresh 
surrender,  or  an  outpouring  of  loving  aspiration  toward 
God.  This  infantile  faith  vv^as  what  made  him  great  be- 
fore God,  and  this  intense  love  made  him  mighty  through 
God  with  men." 

"It  is  the  seen  and  claimed  promises  which  make 
the  clouds  disperse  and  the  heavens  glow." 

"There  was  no  vital  force  lost  in  trimming  his  conduct 
to  suit  one  eye  fixed  on  the  earth,  and  other  eye  looking 
toward  heaven. '  The  thought  that  he  worked  out  in  his 
life  was,  "  Precious  Jesus,  draw  me  and  I  will  run  after 
Thee."  It  was  Jesus  in  regeneration,  Jesus  for  growth  in 
grace,  Jesus  in  life,  and  Jesus  in  death. 
**He  was  a  burning  and  a  shining  light. 


GOING  TO  THE  FRONT.  u; 

"  As  beacon  lights,  oh,  may  we  stand, 
Upon  this  dark  and  dreary  strand  ; 
To  guide  earth's  voyagers  through  the  gloom, 
To  the  bright  world  beyond  the  tomb. 
•Jesus,  thou  light  from  heaven  divine, 
Let  thy  bright  beams  within  us  shine  ; 
That  so  our  lives  may  ever  be 
A  true  reflection,  Lord,  of  thee." 
Hear  the  toiler  again :  ' '  Last  evening  we  heard  from 
several  converts  in  Battery  H.    It  was  worth  all  my  labor 
here  to  listen  to  the  story  of  what  grace  had  done  for 
them.     At  the  Soldiers'  Rest  one  fine  young  man  cried 
out,  *  O   that   God  would    have   mercy   on    me.      My 
mother  died   but  a  few  days  since,  and  begged   me  to 
meet  her  in  heaven.'     Another  told  me  that  he  had 
left  home  to  get  rid  of  his  mother's  entreaties  and 
prayers,    but   the   Spirit  had   followed    him   and   rung 
them^  in  his  ears.     He  has  had  a  hard  struggle,  bu't 
I  believe  has  submitted  his  heart  to  Christ." 

Later  in  the  winter  he  is  down  among  the  huts  and 
tents  of  the  Third  Army  Corps. 

Rejoicingly  he  reports  to  the  rooms  in  New  York 
marvels  of  saving  grace.  ''  I  have  never  seen  such  a 
work  since  coming  out.  There  are  crowded  meetings 
every  night.  Christians  are  all  aroused.  Converts 
are  being  multipled.  In  the  spring  the  entire  com- 
mand will  move,  and  many  of  these  will  go  out  to  die 
on  the  bloody  field." 

A  chaplain  at  the  same  date  writes  to  the  Society  : 

*'  We  are  greatly  indebted   to  you  for  sending  Uncle 

John  here.  We  wish  he  could  have  remained  all  winter. 

When  he  bade  us  good-by  it  was  with  praj^ers   and 

6 


ii8  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR. 

tears  that  reminded  me  of  the  elders  parting  with  Paul 
at  Miletus.  He  went  away  with  his  knees  all  ragged, 
like  a  scarred  veteran." 

He  runs  home  for  a  few  days,  and  on  getting 
back  to  Washington  finds  that  he  cannot  get  at  once 
inside  our  lines  on  account  of  some  new  orders  which 
have  just  been  given.  No  time  must  be  lost,  so  he 
goes  to  work  among  the  troops  around  the  capital. 
We  can  imagine  how  he  would  enjoy  a  service  such  as 
this  :  "  Sunday  afternoon  General  Briggs,  who  has 
charge  of  all  volunteers  passing  through  here  to  the 
front,  went  with  me  to  a  meeting  in  a  Pennsylvania 
regiment,  where  we  had  present  a  thousand  officers 
and  men.  1  wish  you  could  have  seen  the  General  as 
he  faced  these  men,  and  heard  the  words  he  pressed 
upon  their  hearts.  I  have  not  met  such  another  Chris- 
tian officer  excepting  General  McAllister.  Old  Mas- 
sachusetts may  well  be  proud  of  such  a  son.  He  is  a 
tower  of  strength  to  Christian  laborers  here." 

After  the  terrible  battles  in  the  "Wilderness"  he 
went  down  to  Fredericksburg,  where  the  wounded  had 
been  brought  in,  and  thence  he  writes  :  ''  I  am  sur- 
rounded by  the  dying  and  the  dead.  From  morning 
to  night,  and  often  through  the  night,  I  am  called  to 
aid  temporally  or  spiritually  those  who  are  nearing 
eternity.  I  have  not  passed  by  the  poor  rebel  sol- 
diers. Some  of  them  were  very  grateful  for  little  kind- 
nesses shown. 

"  I  have  been  detailed  with  several  others  to  nurse 
and  care  for  some  five  hundred  of  our  wounded  men. 


GOING    TO    THE  FRONT.  119 

Many  of  them  know  me,  and  a  number,  when  under- 
going amputation,  would  beg  me  to  come  and  stand  by 
their  sides.  Thank  God  for  our  holy  religion.  In  the 
midst  of  so  much  suffering  I  see  some  great  triumphs 
of  grace." 

Next  he  is  with  General  Butler's  army  at  Point  of 
Rocks,  ministering  to  those  in  the  convalescent  camps 
injured  in  the  attack  on  Petersburg,  and  this  is  the 
story  that  he  tells  :  "  I  cannot  describe  what  my  eyes 
have  seen,  my  ears  heard,  and  my  heart  felt  these  ten 
days  past  ;  feeding  men  whose  mouths  have  been 
torn  by  bullets,  or  whose  throats  so  injured  that  they 
could  hardly  take  nourishment  sufficient  to  sustain 
life,  distributing  the  stores  of  the  Sanitary  and  Chris- 
tian Commissions,  praying  with  the  dying,  relieving 
men  who  for  six  weeks  have  been  over  the  suffering  or 
burying  the  dead — this  has  been  my  work." 

From  before  Petersburg,  where  the  Sanitary  Com- 
mission finds  in  him  a  valued  helper  and  puts  large 
supplies  at  his  disposal,  he  reports  :  **  The  firing  is 
almost  continuous  along  portions  of  our  line.  Many 
of  the  dear  converts  of  last  winter  are  falling,  and  are 
being  laid  to  their  long  rest.  One  of  them  I  had 
looked  to  as  chosen  of  God  for  great  good.  Talented 
and  generous,  courageous,  yet  childlike,  I  have  not 
often  met  his  like.  I  saw  him  after  he  had  fallen,  the 
stars  and  stripes  yet  in  his  hands.  His  face  was  as 
radiant  as  when  we  last  sang  with  him  his  favorite 
hymn,  '  There  is  an  hour  of  peaceful  rest.* 

"Another   dear  spirit  was  cut    down    in    a    recent 


I20  UNCLE  JOHN  VASSAR. 

charge.  I  saw  him  after  the  amputation  of  his  leg,  and 
before  he  died.  He  seemed  calm,  cheerful,  and  full  of 
delight  in  Christ.  Speaking  of  his  part  in  the  engage- 
ment, he  said,  'I  did  all  I  could.'  These  and  many 
others  are  buried  close  up  to  the  enemy's  lines,  but  the 
loving  Jesus  watches  over  them  as  though  they  slept  in 
the  old  family  burial  ground. 

*'One  of  the  converts,  after  the  explosion  of  the 
mine,  came  out  badly  hurt.  He  was  placed  among  the 
wounded,  and  when  I  reached  him  he  lifted  up  the  stump 
of  a  missing  limb  and  cried,  'Uncle  John,  I  have  lost  my 
arm,  but  I  have  not  lost  my  hold  on  Jesus.' " 

"  Nothing  could  be  more  conclusive  as  to  the  sound- 
ness of  his  work  than  such  a  testimony." 

At  City  Point,  amid  the  trenches,  he  was  completely 
prostrated,  and  lay  for  days  very  ill.  Ex-Mayor  Fay, 
of  Chelsea,  Mass.,  took  him  to  his  tent  and  showed 
him  such  attention  as  a  brother  might.  By  Thanks- 
giving (1864)  he  is  able  to  work  again,  and  thus  men- 
tions the  observance  of  that  day :  "  We  had  religious 
services  in  all  the  forts  and  trenches,  and  at  the  hospi- 
tals and  headquarters. 

"  Several  more  good  boys  belonging  to  our  Christian 

brotherhood  are  gone.     Sergeant  L was  brought  in 

dead  while  I  was  standing  in  the  fort.  A  ball  passed 
through  his  body.     He  never  even  groaned.    When  they 

picked  him  up  Chaplain  H told  him  to  look  to  Jesus. 

He  looked  up,  and  calmly  said,  'Jesus  is  with  me  now. 
God's  will  be  done.'  " 

On  the  first  Sabbath  in  February,  1865,  he  writes 


GOING    TO    THE  FRONT.  12: 

from  Patrick's  Station  :  "  We  had  expected  to  dedicate 
several  new  log  chapels  and  have  some  very  interesting 
services  to-day,  but  as  we  were  getting  ready  the  men 
were  suddenly  ordered  to  move  to  the  left.  For  the 
last  half  hour  the  roar  of  cannon  has  been  very  hard. 
Some  of  the  men  who  were  so  happy  in  our  meeting 
last  night,  and  who  went  out  so  cheerfully  this  morn- 
ing, have  been  brought  in  dead.  My  heart  sickens  as  I 
look  on  the  bloody  ground  and  remember  what  sorrow 
will  be  brought  to  many  a  home  by  this  day's  fight." 

After  the  battle  of  Hatcher's  Run  comes  this  strik- 
ing incident:  "At  one  of  the  recent  meetings  this 
fact  came  out.  In  the  last  move  a  Christian  young 
man  in  the  camp  was  detailed  to  remain  behind  for  some 
service  while  an  impenitent  tent-mate  v/as  ordered  on. 
Anxious  for  the  yet  unsaved  comrade,  and  fearing  that 
the  engagement  might  be  a  serious  one,  the  pious  sol- 
dier offered  to  change  places  with  his  chum,  saying 
frankly  that  he  believed  he  was  prepared  for  whatever 
might  come.  The  offer  was  accepted,  and  in  the 
bloody  battle  that  followed  the  friend  who  went  was 
three  times  hit,  but  not  seriously  hurt.  The  impression 
made  on  the  other  soul  was  so  deep  as  to  send  him  at 
once  to  Christ." 

Another,  then  a  chaplain.  Rev.  L.  R.  Janes,  nov/ 
of  Jefferson  County,  Tennessee,  thus  witnesses  of 
Uncle  John's  services  in  the  camp  : 

"  I  first  met  him  in  a  field  hospital  at  City  Point, 
Virginia,  and  must  confess  that  I  did  not  immediately 
understand  the  man.      I  saw  at  once  that  he  was  a  de- 


122  UNCLE  JOHN  VASSAR. 

cided  character,  and  very  quickly  discovered  that  he 
was  all  on  fire  with  love  to  Jesus  and  his  fellow-men. 
i  "  Learning  of  my  position,  he  sought  to  secure  my 
cooperation  in  a  plan  of  work  embracing  the  entire 
brigade.  I  entered  into  the  arrangement,  though  u'ith 
little  of  his  faith.  Wickedness  was  peculiarly  rife, 
drinking,  gambling,  and  the  like  prevailing  all  along  the 
line.     He  knew  that  well,  but  he  walked  not  by  sight. 

*' Through  the  Christian  Commission  he  secured 
for  our  use  a  chapel  tent,  nightly  services  were  com- 
menced, and  for  several  weeks,  until  the  army  moved, 
a  glorious  and  sweeping  revival  was  enjoyed.  Brother 
Vassar  was  very  modest  through  it  all.  Although  the 
prime  mover,  he  invariably  sought  to  bring  the  regular 
chaplains  to  the  front,  so  that  the  most  scrupulous 
sticklers  for  propriety  could  not  have  complained. 

"Of  course  the  worldly-minded  could  not  appreci- 
ate his  consecration.  Some  of  them  insisted  that  the 
good  man  was  partly  crazed.  My  colonel  was  quite 
reluctant  on  this  account  to  have  him  come  before 
our  regiment.  It  was  not  long,  hovv'ever,  before  he 
changed  his  mind.  While  lying  in  a  hospital  wound- 
ed. Brother  Vassar  called  on  him,  and  so  won  him  over 
that,  on  returning  to  his  command,  he  said,  '  Uncle 
John  's  about  right,  after  all.' 

"Upon  my  own  mind  he  has  ineffaceably  stamped 
the  impress  of  the  thought,  of  which  he  was  a  living 
exemplification,  'not  with  eye-service,  as  men-pleas- 
ers,  but  as  the  servants  of  Christ,  doing  the  will  of 
God  from  the  heart.'  " 


GOING   TO  THE  FRONT.  123 

Chaplain  H says  :  "  His  pleading,  particularizing 

prayers  ;  his  varied,  choice,  and  ready  store  of  hymns  ; 
his  rapid,  yet  unoffending  directness  of  personal  appeal ; 
his  easy  and  quick  command  of  thought  and  language  ; 
his  homely,  pointed,  and  solemn  method  in  public  ad- 
dress ;  and  his  very  appearance,  and  voice,  and  manner, 
unpretending  and  deferential,  yet  as  earnest  and  sympa- 
thetic as  they  possibly  could  be — all  qualified  him  to  suc- 
ceed anywhere. 

"  I  have  been  amazed  sometimes  at  the  beauty  of  his 
prayers.  On  one  occasion,  during  the  heat  of  summer, 
we  rode  together  through  the  woods  to  a  distant  pasture, 
that  our  horses,  then  fed  only  on  grain,  might  enjoy  gra- 
zing for  an  hour.  Uncle  John  had  been  somewhat  de- 
pressed, and  v/e  sat  under  the  shade  of  a  tree.    Suddenly 

he  exclaimed,  *  Brother  H ,  let  us  pray,'  threw  himself 

forward  upon  the  grass,  and  instantly  began,  '  O  God,  on 
this  beautiful  day,  amid  these  old  woods,  and  beneath 
thine  own  clear  heavens,  we  lift  up  our  souls  to  Thee.' 
His  voice,  at  first  slow  and  full,  was  rich  with  melody 
and  pathos ;  and  as  petition  after  petition,  exquisitely 
expressed,  followed  each  other  in  beautiful  succession,  I 
thought  the  sacred  eloquence  of  that  unstudied  prayer 
such  as  I  had  never  heard  before.  While  the  prostrate 
body  rested  on  hands  and  knees,  crouching  in  lowliest 
humility,  and  the  face,  with  close-shut  eyes  and  intensity 
of  expression,  sometimes  almost  touched  the  ground,  the 
longing,  believing  spirit  seemed  to  rise,  as  on  angels* 
wings,  into  the  presence  and  glory  of  its  God.  As  we 
were  returning,  he  said  that  he  seemed  to  have  had  a 


124  UNCLE  JOHN  VASSAR. 

glimpse  of  heaven,  and  was  refreshed  and  comforted.  1 
could  easily  believe  it. 

"  I  shall  not  soon  forget  the  delight  with  which  I  first 
heard  him  singing  a  song,  whose  lively  notes  and  cheer- 
ful, rejoicing  confidence  accorded  admirably  with  his  own 
spirit.  It  was  towards  the  close  of  a  crowded  meeting  in 
the  log-chapel.  He  rose  after  a  prayer,  and  turned  round 
in  the  aisle  so  as  to  face  the  congregation.  His  right 
hand  held  the  left  by  two  fingers,  and  kept  it  out  of  the 
way  behind  his  back.  Standing  in  his  humble,  but  easy 
manner,  he  began  in  a  clear  voice, 

"  '  We  are  joyously  voyaging  over  the  main, 
Bound  for  the  evergreen  shore, 
Whose  inhabitants  never  of  sickness  complain, 
And  never  see  death  any  more.' 

Warming  as  he  went  on,  he  kept  looking  over  the  audi- 
ence to  observe  their  feeling ;  and  before  he  had  finished 
he  was  clapping  his  hands  quietly  in  time  to  the  tune, 
and  leading  us  all  in  the  chorus,  like  an  enthusiastic  sing- 
ing-teacher. The  hymn,  though  familiar  now,  was  then 
new  to  most  of  us,  but  we  could  not  help  joining  with 
Uncle  John,  to  the  best  of  our  ability,  in  the  chorus. 
Few,  perhaps  none,  went  away  from  the  meeting  that 
night  without  resolving  to  secure  transportation  in  that 
good  ship,  for  which,  according  to  his  wont.  Uncle  John 
was  looking  up  passengers." 

Sunday  morning,  April  1st,  1865,  was  what  might 
be  properly  called  the  last  Sabbath  of  the  war.  Of 
that  day,  and  those  immediately  following,  let  us  hear 
what  he  has  to  say. 

"  Sunday  morning  dawned  on  a  field  of  strife  and 


GOING    TO    THE  FRONT.  125 

blood  and  death.  Such  a  Sabbath  I  had  not  in  all  my 
army  experience  seen.  For  three  miles  I  passed  along 
the  lines  amid  roaring  cannon  and  bursting  shells,  where 
the  '  gray  '  and  the  *  blue  '  often  lay  close  together, 
mingling  their  life-blood  and  dying  groans.  We  little 
realized  in  the  confusion  and  horror  of  that  day  that 
the  God  of  our  fathers  was  using  our  men  to  strike 
the  blows  which  should  bring  the  long  conflict  to  an 
end. 

"  Monday  morning  found  our  great  army  in  pur- 
suit of  Lee  and  his  troubled  host.  We  followed  with 
out  sanitary  wagons  until  we  reached  Burkesville.  By 
that  time  so  many  had  been  wounded  that  the  sur- 
geons decided  to  establish  a  hospital  there.  In  that  I 
have  busied  myself  for  days.  As  we  moved  along  the 
roads  the  colored  people  flocked  out  to  see  the 
*  Yankees,'  as  they  called  us,  and  in  many  queer  ways 
they  expressed  their  joy.  One  shouted,  '  Ole  Vir- 
ginny  neber  tire,  but  now  she  tire' 

"  Now  we  have  the  glorious  news  that  General  Lee 

has  surrendered.     Praise  the  Lord,  O  my  soul.     Many 

of  our  poor  wounded  boys  have  almost  forgotten  their 

sufferings  in  their  joy  over  the  report." 

Immediately  on  the   occupation  of   Richmond  the 

Tract  Society  sent   Rev.   G.  L.   Shearer  there  to  take 

charge   of  its  work  in  Virginia,  and   for  some  months 

Uncle  John  was  his  efficient  ally  in  trying  to  repair, 

morally  and  religiously  at   least,  the   ravages   of   war. 

1  o  a  later  chapter  these  labors  properly  belong. 

His  army  work  was  done.     He  had  lived  to  see  aii 
6* 


126  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR. 

honorable  peace  shed  its  Hght  on  the  banner  of  stars. 
He  had  lived  to  see  the  monstrous  evil,  which  had 
been  his  abhorrence  always,  and  which  had  lain  at  the 
bottom  of  the  struggle,  not  only  shattered,  but  torn 
up  root  and  branch.  He  saw  guns  stacked  and 
swords  sheathed,  and  battle-flags  bullet-rent  and  pow 
der-blackened  hung  up  for  a  later  generation's  wonder- 
ing eyes.  He  saw  the  white  tents  folded,  the  wards 
of  suffering  empty,  and  the  lines  of  blue-coats  melt 
noiselessly  away.  And  nobody  rejoiced  more  than  he 
that  the  red  river  of  blood  had  ceased  to  flow,  that 
no  more  harvests  would  be  trampled  down,  no  more 
beds  littered  with  the  worn  or  maimed,  no  more 
households  darkened  and  shivered,  no  more  graves 
opened  and  filled.  And  yet  with  something  like  a 
pang,  too,  he  saw  the  old  regiments  mustered  out.  A 
thousand  memories,  some  bitter,  some  bright,  linked 
him  and  the  men  with  whom  he  had  tramped  and  camp>- 
ed,  and  messed,  and  bunked,  and  suffered,  and  prayed, 
and  praised.  Long  isolation  from  home  had  drawn 
their  hearts  together.  From  the  fierce  charge  he 
had  brought  some  back  bleeding,  and  bound  up  their 
wounds.  In  the  fever  ward,  where  they  had  tossed  and 
moaned,  he  had  come  to  others  and  watched  with  the 
tenderness  of  a  woman's  love.  With  hundreds  he  had 
plead  and  wrestled  when  as  penitent  sinners  they  were 
looking  and  longing  for  the  light,  and  rejoiced  with 
them  when  as  converts  they  saw  the  new  and  living 
way  by  which  a  contrite  soul  returns  to  God.  With 
older    believers    there    had    been    seasons    of    blessed 


GOING    TO    THE  FRONT.  127 

communion  ;  times  when  the  fellowship  of  kindred 
minds  had  indeed  been  'Mike  to  that  above.''  And 
beside  the  hving  tliere  were  the  dead  who  had  been 
left  lying  all  along  the  line  of  march.  Hours  very 
sweet  and  precious  he  had  spent  with  some  of  them. 
For  a  few  he  had  even  dug  a  grave,  and  wrapping  their 
blankets  around  them,  had  lowered  them  into  it,  telling 
those  helping  meanwhile  of  that  Christ  Jesus  who  is 
the  Redeemer  and  the  Resurrection. 

What  wonder,  if  with  devout  gladness,  and  yet  a 
trace  of  sadness,  he  saw  this  work  end  ! 

The  results  of  these  years  it  would  be  impossible  to 
compute  or  calculate.  We  believe  it  perfectly  safe  to 
say  that  no  single  man  ever  performed  in  like  space 
more  personal  labor,  or  amid  like  surroundings  ever 
made  a  deeper  or  better  mark  on  men. 

For  any  thing  more  definite  we  must  wait  the  dis- 
closures of  that  all-judging  day,  whose  reckonings  v/ill 
be  correct. 


CHAPTER   VII. 
NEW   CAMPAIGNS. 

*'  Where  our  Captain  bids  us  go, 
'Tis  not  ours  to  murmur  No  ; 
He  that  gives  the  sword  and  shield 
Chooses  too  the  battle  field." 

The  armies  of  the  nation  vanished  as  suddenly  as 
they  emerged,  leaving  but  "  the  blessed  memory  of  the 
rights  they  vindicated,  and  the  honorable  scars  of  the 
wrongs  which  they  redressed."  Chaplains  who  had 
been  granted  leave  of  absence  from  their  flocks  went 
back  to  lead  them  as  aforetime  through  the  green  pas- 
tures and  beside  the  still  waters  of  Gospel  peace. 
Uncle  John  did  not  follow  the  disbanding  regiments 
northward.  He  saw  a  new  field  for  operations  opening 
in  the  States  which  war  had  stripped  and  torn  and 
gashed.  To  enter  it  would  require  great  tact  and 
grace.  Sectional  animosities  could  hardly  fail  to  be  en- 
gendered during  a  four  years*  struggle,  costing  the 
lives  of  half  a  million  men — animosities  lasting  and 
bitter  and  deep.  This  incident,  given  by  Rev.  G.  S. 
Mott,  D.D.,  of  Flemington,  N.  J.,  would  probably  be 
a  fair  illustration  of  the  temper  of  those  times  : 

**  Soon  after  hostilities  ceased,  Uncle  John  was 
sent  by  the  Tract  Society  into  a  certain  section  of 
Virginia    to    ascertain   what    the    public   feeling   was 


NEW    CAMPAIGNS.  129 

with  reference  to  the  Society  and  its  work.  Among 
those  called  upon  was  a  prominent  Presbyterian  clergy, 
man,  whom  he  met  on  entering  the  yard,  or  at  the 
gate.  On  making  known  his  errand  the  minister  re- 
plied, '  Do  you  know  what  is  in  my  heart  ? '  'Of 
course  not,'  said  Uncle  John,  '  but  I  hope  it  is  good.' 
*  Not  at  all,'  was  the  reply.  *  My  feeling  is  to  kill 
you.  I  hope  God  gives  me  grace  to  prevent  me 
from  carrying  that  feeling  out,  but  now  you  know  just 
how  I  feel  toward  the  North.' 

"  Before  the  interview  ended  the  angry  preacher 
was  thoroughly  melted  down,  but  the  wrathful  and 
vindictive  spirit  with  which  he  greeted  a  brother 
Christian  was  a  sample  of  the  disposition  dominant  in 
those  days."  To  overcome  it  would  require  calmness, 
readiness,  self-control,  and  in  a  sevenfold  degree  that 
charity  which  suffereth  long  and  is  kind. 

Those  who  did  not  know  the  man  whom  we  are 
tracing  may  think  it  almost  incredible  that  he  should 
have  possessed  these  qualities.  To  them  he  has  been 
represented  as  an  excitable,  impulsive,  emotional  en- 
thusiast, rushing  hither  and  thither  all  aflame  ;  and 
they  cannot  understand  how  such  a  character  could 
ever  have  been  a  peacemaker,  how  such  a  zealot 
could  have  poured  oil  on  troubled  waters,  how  one  so 
positive  and  even  turbulent  could  have  dealt  effect- 
ively with  fractious  tempers  and  stubborn  wills.  We 
may  not  pause  here  to  harmonize  these  apparent  in- 
compatibilities. The  two  sides  of  an  arch  toward  the 
base  seem  opposing  columns,  but  up  above  they  lock 


I30  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR. 

together,  forming  one  perfect  whole.  Human  nature 
often  wraps  up  what  looks  like  incongruities,  but  sym- 
metry is  the  outcome  still.  Certain  it  is  that  John 
Vassar  was  the  very  incarnation  of  fervor  ;  it  is  just  as 
certain  that  under  the  sorest  provocations  he  with  per- 
fect patience  possessed  his  soul. 

As  was  intimated  in  the  last  chapter,  the  Tract 
Society  opened  a  depot  for  its  publications  in  Rich- 
mond in  May  of  1865.  Rev.  Geo.  L.  Shearer,  as  Dis- 
trict Secretary,  was  put  in  charge.  Uncle  John  was 
to  push  out  as  opportunity  might  offer,  organizing 
Sunday-schools,  establishing  meetings,  and  circulating 
religious  reading  matter  to  such  an  extent  as  the 
Society  might  be  able  to  provide. 

Secretary  Shearer  gives  this  idea  of  the  demand  : 

"  All  the  churches  are  exceedingly  destitute  of  any 
thing  like  religious  literature.  Their  denominational 
publishing  houses  were  consumed  in  the  late  fire.  Sab- 
bath-schools shared  their  libraries  with  the  soldiers, 
and  the  usual  wear  for  four  years  leaves  little  stock  on 
hand.  Seventy  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  publications 
could  be  judiciously  distributed  on  this  field,  and  the 
need  of  colporteur  labor  from  house  to  house  is  great." 

Dr.  J.  M.  Stevenson,  who  had  been  instructed  by 
the  Committee  of  the  Society  to  make  an  exploring 
tour  of  the  South  in  the  early  summer,  gives  these  im- 
pressions through  the  columns  of  the  Messenger, 
**  There  are  yet  difficulties  in  the  way  of  a  cordial  in- 
tercourse with  the  people,  and  many  still  refuse  fra- 
ternal greetings,  but  the  better  minds  and  hearts  are 


NEIV   CAMPAIGNS.  131 

flowing  together.  There  are  more  than  a  million  of 
whites  and  blacks  in  Eastern  Virginia  living  on  planta- 
tions, and  these,  if  reached  at  all  by  the  Gospel,  must 
be  reached  by  colportage  for  some  time  to  come.  In 
many  places  they  have  no  money.  One  man  said  to 
me,  '  I  have  not  had  half  a  dollar  for  two  months.*  An 
able  and  honored  professor  in  college  has  sold  his  fur- 
niture piecemeal  to  get  bread.  Many  once  wealthy  are 
pensioners  upon  the  Government.  Three  thousand 
colored  children  are  in  the  freedmen's  schools  at  Rich- 
mond, and  perhaps  four  thousand  in  Sabbath-schools." 

These  glim.pses  of  the  condition  of  things  will  show 
us  what  was  now  to  be  Uncle  John's  work  for  a  sea- 
son ;  what  was  to  be  the  character  of  his  new  cam- 
paigns. 

His  first  communication  opens  thus  :  "  Reached 
Richmond  Saturday,  and  the  next  day  went  into  Dr. 
Jeter's  Sabbath-school,  where  the  reception  was  warm 
and  kind.  Afternoon  vv^ent  among  the  colored  people, 
and  had  a  cordial  welcome.  Evening  had  a  good  meet- 
ing among  the  soldiers  yet  remaining  here.  The  next 
Sabbath  went  down  to  Petersburg,  and  there  heaven 
was  brought  nearer  to  me  than  for  weeks  before.  The 
remembrance  of  the  days  when  we  lay  in  the  trenches 
here,  and  of  the  prayers  that  went  up  from  lips  now 
still  in  death,  stirred  me  up  to  magnify  the  Lord.  I 
spoke  to  a  large  gathering  of  colored  people,  and  many 
hearts  seemed  touched.  Eight  asked  prayers,  and  I 
felt  that  a  work  of  grace  had  begun  with  many  more. 

"  In  the  First  African  Church,  Richmond,  we  had 


133  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR. 

another  precious  and  powerful  meeting.  More  than 
thirty  were  greatly  troubled,  and  some  wept  aloud.  A 
great  awakening,  I  believe,  is  near.  Oh,  for  youthful 
strength  and  heavenly  grace  to  labor  for  my  dearest 
Lord." 

The  prediction  was  quickly  verified.  This  First 
African  Church,  which  had  been  for  years  the  rendez- 
vous or  headquarters  of  the  colored  Baptistsof  the  city, 
and  had  a  membership  of  over  three  thousand,  was  visit- 
ed by  a  most  remarkable  outpouring  of  saving  grace. 
At  its  height  the  body  of  the  house  was  mainly  filled 
with  inquiring  souls,  and  frequently  its  nearly  twenty- 
five  hundred  sittings  were  all  occupied  before  the  ex- 
ercises of  the  hour  began.  While  the  interest  prevail- 
ed Uncle  John  met  the  members  for  prayer  at  day- 
break. Till  noon  he  visited  and  prayed  in  their  fami- 
lies. At  twelve  he  went  into  the  colored  schools  and 
spent  an  hour  with  those  who  were  specially  concern- 
ed. At  four  o'clock  he  met  inquirers  along  with  the 
pastor.  At  seven  o'clock  he  addressed  the  crowds 
that  assembled  from  night  to  night.  Nearly  five  hun- 
dred were  added  to  this  single  church. 

From  Richm.ond  he  pushed  out  into  the  country 
around,  Danville,  Lynchburg,  and  other  large  places 
engaging  him  for  a  few  days  each.  Li  the  midsummer 
of  1865  he  was  travelling  southward  in  the  State,  and 
stopping  at  a  station  on  the  railroad,  learned  that  in 
some  coal  mines  near  there  were  large  companies  of 
freedmen  who  had  no  school,  and  for  whom  no  one 
seemed  to  care.     Such  a  statement  was  enough  to  in* 


"a  log  house  for  the  school" 


NEW    CAMPAIGXS.  133 

terest  him  in  their  behalf.  He  found  a  planter  three 
miles  away  who  agreed  to  superintend  a  Sabbath- 
school.  A  little  further  searching,  and  a  building  was 
obtained  in  which  to  meet.  Notice  was  circulated  as 
v/idely  as  possible,  and  the  next  Lord's  Day  a  hundred 
came  together  to  be  taught.  He  scattered  among 
these  spellers  and  primers,  and  put  up  a  card  large 
enough  for  all  to  see,  from  which  he  gave  them  their 
first  lesson.  So  eagerly  did  the  people  avail  them- 
selves of  the  help  thus  proffered  that  the  school  proved 
a  marked  success  at  once.  Inspired  by  it,  they  even 
started  a  day-school,  taught  by  one  of  their  own  race. 
Out  of  that  soon  came  a  church  ;  out  of  the  teacher 
came  a  pastor,  and  on  a  subsequent  visit  Uncle  John 
found  a  hundred  converts  ready  to  confess  Christ.  Is 
it  surprising  that  he  wrote,  "  I  feel  thankful  that  I  was 
ever  permitted  to  visit  this  place.  I  wish  the  friend 
that  gave  fifteen  dollars  to  purchase  the  books  that 
started  that  school  could  see  it  now,  and  into  what  it  has 
grown.  Surely  he  would  praise  God  as  we  did  yester- 
day. 

Hear  him  again  report  :  "  Last  Sabbath  I  visited  the 
country  near  Powhatan  Court-House,  and  established  a 
Sunday-school  in  the  woods.  A  hundred  of  the  young 
and  old  attended,  some  of  whom  came  five  miles. 
A  number  of  planters  were  present,  who  admitted  they 
had  never  seen  persons  more  anxious  to  learn.  A 
log-house  for  the  school  will  at  once  be  built.  I  can 
get  up  such  schools  every  week  if  you  can  give  the 
cards  and   books.      We  cannot  ask  the  colored  folks  to 


134  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR. 

pay  for  them.  They  have  all  they  can  do  to  get  bread. 
At  Dover,  where  I  established  a  school  a  few  weeks 
ago,  I  stopped  on  my  return.  Some  of  the  scholars 
ran  to  meet  me,  shouting,  *  Uncle  John,  I  have  learned 
to  read  a  heap  since  you  were  here.*  Better  still,  more 
than  fifty  have  turned  to  Christ." 

As  a  slight  rest  from  these  exhausting  labors.  Uncle 
John  several  times  came  North,  and  in  the  larger 
towns  of  the  Eastern  and  Middle  States  sought  to  raise 
funds  for  the  Society  wherewith  to  prosecute  its 
Southern  work.  This  was  never,  however,  the  service 
which  he  preferred,  and  perhaps  it  would  be  but  the 
simple  truth  to  say  that  it  was  not  the  service  in  which 
he  specially  excelled.  He  could  sell  books,  and  he 
^<?2//<^/ collect  money.  He  did  both.  But  he  vvas  not  a 
great  salesmian,  nor  a  remarkable  financier.  He  had 
royal  gifts,  but  they  were  of  quite  another  sort. 
Sometimes  one  of  his  Vv^arm-hearted  statements  of 
Southern  destitution  would  move  many  and  secure  a 
large  contribution.  This  incident  of  the  kind  seem.s 
authentic  :  "  In  Northern  Nev/  York  a  country  Sun- 
day-school, after  listening  to  his  portrayal  of  the  state 
of  things  in  Virginia,  and  the  demands  of  the  hour, 
poured  all  their  available  funds  into  his  handkerchief, 
class  after  class  contributing  till  more  than  eighty  dol- 
lars had  been  given." 

With  the  closing  days  of  1866  he  gets  over  the  line 
into  North  Carolina,  where  black  and  white  alike  give 
him  the  kindest  of  welcomes.  On  Christmas  day  he  thus 
reports  :   "  I  have  just  returned  from  the  Moravian  set' 


NEW    CAMPAIGNS.  135 

tlement  at  Salem.  I  made  the  journey  of  sixty  miles 
on  horseback,  through  more  than  fifty  of  which  I  did 
not  see  a  single  school-house.  Bishop  Bahnson  and 
his  brethren  were  very  cordial.  They  are  a  grand  mis- 
sionary church.  Their  mark  can  be  seen  in  all  that 
region.  Numbers  are  coming  to  Jesus.  Hundreds 
within  a  few  weeks  have  made  their  peace  with 
God." 

South  Carolina,  Tennessee,  and  Kentucky  he  re- 
connoitres to  see  what  prospects  offer  for  educational 
and  evangelistic  work.  He  reports  prejudices  soften- 
ing everywhere,  but  sore  poverty  amounting  often  to 
absolute  distress.  In  the  latter  State  he  makes  the 
acquaintance  of  an  earnest  Christian  woman,  concern- 
ing whom  he  tells  this  story  :  "In  1863  one  of 
Morgan's  raiders  was  thrown  from  his  horse  near  Lex- 
ington and  mortally  injured.  He  was  taken  to  the 
house  of  this  lady,  who,  while  doing  all  she  could  to 
relieve  his  bodily  suffering,  labored  assiduously  for  the 
salvation  of  his  soul.  After  several  days  of  keen  dis- 
tress Christ  was  revealed,  and  peace  came.  Before  he 
died  his  kind  hostess  promised  that  his  body  should  be 
taken  for  burial  to  his  Georgia  home.  At  the  close 
of  the  war  she  fulfilled  her  pledge,  and  laid  him  in  a 
grave  by  his  father's  side.  While  on  this  errand  she  was 
touched  by  the  extreme  destitution  prevailing  in  that 
portion  of  the  State.  Many  were  going  literally  hun- 
gry, and  of  the  means  of  grace  there  was  an  utter  lack. 
She  sent  back  to  her  own  neighborhood  an  appeal  for 
food,  and  vast  quantities  of  corn  were  gathered  up  and 


136  UNCLE  JOHN   VASSAR, 

forwarded  to  her  for  the  relief  of  their  more  pressing 
wants.  While  superintending  the  distribution  of  these 
supplies  she  organized  among  whites  and  blacks  ?ime- 
tecn  Sunday-schools,  and  secured  books  and  papers  for 
their  use.  She  now  proposes  to  go  into  the  miountain 
regions  of  her  own  State,  where  it  is  said  that  there  are 
twelve  thousand  families  without  the  Word  of  God, 
and  make  a  similar  effort.  Who  will  help  this  self- 
sacrificing,  heroic  woman  ?" 

What  large  results  may  be  realized  from  small  be- 
ginnings another  letter  of  his,  written  about  this  time, 
tells.  "  In  a  neighborhood  of  Stafford  County,  Virginia, 
where  there  was  no  Sabbath-school  when  I  first  visited 
it,  and  where  I  could  at  that  time  get  no  one  to  engage 
in  the  enterprise,  a  lady  tells  me  how  God  led  her 
husband  into  the  work.  When  he  went  home  from 
our  meeting  he  told  her  that  he  had  lived  fifty  years 
without  Jesus,  but  could  do  so  no  longer.  He  sent 
for  a  minister  to  come  to  his  house  and  preach.  The 
truth  was  blessed  to  his  own  salvation.  Fifty  others 
soon  followed  in  his  steps.  A  church  was  organized. 
A  meeting-house  holding  two  hundred  has  been  built, 
and  I  remained  and  organized  a  Sunday-school  in  it, 
which  will  have  a  hundred  children  enrolled  before  the 
summer  ends." 

And  a  little  later  : 

"  By  the  help  of  God,  I  would  plead  for  the  poor  white 
and  colored  people  of  this  desolated  part  of  our  country, 
until  every  Christian  and  friend  of  his  country  shall  feel 
the  responsibility  God  has  rolled  upon  us  to  help  them  in 


JV£JF  CAMFA/GiVS.  137 

this  hour  of  need.  What  shall  be  the  character  of  this 
population  ?  How  may  we  labor  to  stamp  the  image  of 
Christ  on  the  hearts  of  thousands  ?  These  are  weighty 
questions  with  me. 

''  I  am  busy  every  day  and  night  among  the  colored 
people.  Quite  a  number  of  our  scholars  in  our  Sunday- 
school  have  found  Christ,  and  it  is  blessed  to  see  their 
happy  faces  on  Sunday  morning  as  they  make  their  way 
in  haste  to  school.  A  large  number  are  under  conviction 
and  need  constant  instruction.  Hundreds  know  me,  and 
cry,  'Uncle  John,  how  do  you  do.?'  I  am  getting  more 
and  more  interested  in  the  children.  I  have  thousands 
of  nephews  and  nieces,  and  feel  no  shame  as  they  recog- 
nize me  as  'Uncle  John.'  All  I  want  is  to  meet  these 
thousands  in  the  house  of  many  mansions.  Jesus  will  have 
many  jewels  set  in  dark  caskets  to  stud  his  crown. 

"  A  little  beyond  Oregon  Hill,  I  passed  over  a  large 
field  of  graves,  where  lay  so  many  of  the  men  of  both 
armies.  I  thought  of  the  many  hopes  buried  with  the 
bodies  of  the  poor  boys  sleeping  away  from  friends  and 
home.  My  heart  was  touched  with  the  remembrance  of 
the  past;  but  another  feeling  filled  my  bosom  as  I  saw 
crowds  of  living  forms,  small  and  great,  passing  before 
me  as  I  entered  the  city,  and  I  looked  upon  the  thousands 
I  have  been  mingling  with,  I  felt  impelled  to  lift  my 
heart  to  heaven  for  their  salvation.  Oh,  that  the  church 
of  Christ  were  awake  to  the  interests  of  these  unnumber- 
ed souls  that  are  ready  to  perish  in  the  midst  of  pov- 
erty. 

"Such  a  field  as  we  find  in  Virginia  is  seldom  looked 


138  UNCLE  JOHN  VASSAR. 

upon  by  Christian  men.  There  are  thousands  of  colored 
people  who  need  to  be  taught  to  read  and  to  be  led  to 
look  to  Jesus  for  salvation.  In  their  unsettled  state  they 
need  God-fearing  men  to  encourage  them  religiously,  and 
teach  them  in  temporal  matters  what  is  for  their  good. 
Thousands  of  the  colored  people  thank  us  for  our  labors 
and  our  prayers,  and  the  poorer  class  of  whites  receive  us 
gladly  when  they  know  our  object  in  coming  among 
them.  Could  we  only  have  the  books  and  men  to  reach 
the  different  counties  of  this  great  state,  God  only  knows 
the  good  that  might  be  done. " 

**  His  labors  here,  and  in  his  frequent  visits  to  other 
parts  of  his  field,  were  very  arduous ;  but  his  heart  was 
greatly  cheered  by  the  anxiety  of  the  people  to  learn, 
and  by  the  constant  evidences  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  **Two 
things,"  he  says,  "keep  me  from  fainting  by  the  way :  the 
children  learn  so  fast,  and  many  are  coming  to  Christ. 
Sometimes  as  many  as  fifty  have  united  with  the  colored 
churches  on  a  Sunday.  They  organize  churches  in  the 
woods,  and  build  log-houses  to  worship  God  in,  and  teach 
their  children  to  read.  Every  visit  to  the  country  con- 
vinces me  that  we  have  the  grandest  mission  field  in 
America.  In  the  widespread  influences  of  the  religion 
of  Christ,  I  see  the  only  great  and  permanent  prosperity 
of  the  South." 

Toward  the  autumn  of  1868  he  starts  for  Florida, 
and,  while  stopping  at  Savannah,  he  goes  out  to  Be- 
thesda,  where  under  the  grand  old  oaks  Whitefield  so 
often  preached,  and  where  he  established  his  Orphan's 
Home.     We  can  easily  imagine  how  his  heart    could 


A^£JF   CAMPAIGNS,  139 

be  thrilled  on  such  ground,  and  what  prayers  there 
burst  from  his  lips. 

In  Florida  his  good  friend  Dr.  Bronson,  of  St.  Au- 
gustine, formerly  of  New  York,  gives  him  a  warm  sup- 
port. Uncle  John  here  finds  experiences  rather  rougher 
in  some  respects  than  any  encountered  heretofore. 
Let  him  describe  some  of  the  difficulties  met.  "  I 
have  concluded  that  I  was  led  here  to  learn  the  apos- 
tolic mode  of  evangelization.  I  cannot  say  with  the 
apostle  that  *  a  day  and  a  night  I  have  been  in  the 
deep,'  but  I  can  say  that  I  have  waded  through  the 
water  for  miles,  and  often  knee-deep,  to  reach  the 
scattered  settlements. 

*'  Last  week,  with  James  Middleton,  an  old  pioneer 
Methodist  preacher,  as  guide,  I  attempted  to  reach  St. 
John's  County  to  establish  a  few  schools.  Sometimes 
for  two  miles  at  a  stretch  we  went  through  water  in  the 
swamps  and  on  the  savannas  from  six  inches  to  two 
feet  deep.  We  kept  up  our  courage,  however,  by  sing- 
in  «■ 

'  No  foot  of  land  do  I  possess, 
No  cottage  in  the  wilderness.' 

We  made  ten  miles  in  five  hours,  and  reached  the 
end  of  our  journey  well  soaked.  Hoiv  delightful  is  this 
work  for  Jcstis  I  As  I  layout  all  night  last  week  I  felt 
like  praising  Him  aloud.  Who  would  not  gladly  spare  a 
few  years  out  of  heaven's  bliss  to  gather  jewels  for  the 
precious  Saviour's  crown  ?  *  If  we  suffer  we  shall  also 
reign  with  Him.'  Oh,  that  we  all  might  know  the 
meaning  of  these  words." 


140  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR, 

Stopping  for  a  few  hours  with  Dr.  Bronson  in  his 
pleasant  Southern  home  in  the  spring  of  1870,  we 
heard  his  testimony  to  the  wonderful  labors  performed 
by  Uncle  John  all  up  and  down  the  St.  John's,  the 
heartiness  with  which  the  humbler  classes  welcomed 
him,  and  the  blessings  which  everywhere  crowned  his 
toil.  And  at  Green  Cove  Springs  and  Magnolia  and 
Pilatka  and  Jacksonville  black  and  white  alike  re- 
membered him,  and  warmed  up  at  the  mention  of  his 
name. 

In  1868  he  spent  some  time  in  Central  and  West- 
ern New  York,  of  which  we  get  glimpses  such  as 
these  : 

"There  was  a  revival  in  the  Brick  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Rochester,  and  Uncle  John,  accompanied  by 
one  of  the  elders,  went  from  house  to  house. 

"  The  elder  felt  quite  nervous  at  the  first  for  fear 
that  something  might  be  said  or  done  which  would  be 
out  of  place  or  in  bad  taste.  He  was  afraid  that  Uncle 
John,  who  was  a  plain  man  and  fresh  from  army  and 
freedmen's  work,  might  be  out  of  his  element  in  mix- 
ing with  a  higher  social  class.  But  after  the  first  two 
or  three  calls  every  fear  of  this  sort  was  dissipated. 
He  found  Uncle  John  was  equal  to  any  place  or  class. 
He  made  no  blunders,  and  was  above  and  beyond  criti- 
cism. To  him  it  was  a  wonder  that  this  man,  untu- 
tored in  social  etiquette  or  conventionalities,  struck  so 
nearly  right  every  time.  Two  or  three  things  account- 
ed for  it.  He  had  naturally  the  instincts  of  a  true 
gentleman.      He  was  quick  to  read  human  nature,  and 


A^EJV   CAMPAIGNS.  141 

he   had   a   large   amount    of  sanctified   common-sense 
which  never  forsook  him. 

**  I  once  saw  him  ask  a  man  if  he  loved  Jesus.  The 
man  was  a  German,  and  could  not  understand  a  word 
said.  Uncle  John  was  not  to  be  baffled  by  such  a  fact 
as  this.  He  pointed  with  his  finger  upward,  and  with 
an  expression  on  his  face  that  spoke  more  than  words, 
he  caused  his  German  friend  to  comprehend  his  mean- 
ing. 

"  One  day  while  in  Rochester  he  happened  to  be 
in  the  store  of  one  of  our  leading  business  men,  and,  as 
was  his  wont,  took  the  opportunity  to  speak  a  word  on 
the  subject  of  religion  with  those  who  came  in.  Some 
were  evidently  surprised,  but  none  seemed  offended. 
After  Uncle  John  went  out,  a  railroad  conductor  came 
in,  who  was  rough  and  sometimes  violent,  especially  if 
his  prejudices  happened  to  be  crossed.  What  had 
been  going  on  in  the  store  was  causally  mentioned, 
whereupon  this  conductor  exclaimed,  *  Well,  neither  he 
nor  any  other  man  would  dare  try  that  on  me.  If  he 
did  he  would  get  a  piece  of  my  mind. 

**  The  very  next  day  the  two  men  chanced  to  meet 
there.  Uncle  John,  all  ignorant  of  v/hat  had  been  said, 
edged  around  to  the  conductor,  and  presently  out  came 
the  inevitable  question,  *  My  friend,  may  I  ask  if  you 
love  Jesus  ?  '  The  proprietor  of  the  store  now  expect- 
ed a  scene.  Instead  of  that  the  man  only  stammered 
out  a  few  words  of  explanation  or  apology  over  the, 
fact  that  he  did  not.  When  Uncle  John  left,  the  con- 
ductor  asked,  *  Who  was  that  man  ?  '  The  storekeeper 
7 


142  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR. 

replied,  '  Uncle  John  Vassar,  the  man  I  told  you  of 
yesterday.'  '  Is  it,  indeed  ?  '  he  said.  '  Well,  he  is  a 
good  fellow  any  way. 

Now  he  goes  to  minister  to  still  another  class.  In 
the  summer  of  1869  the  Tract  Society  determined  to 
put  its  system  of  colportage  in  operation  along  the 
Pacific  Railroad,  among  the  mining  regions  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  and  up  and  down  the  country's 
sunset  slopes.  Mr.  Shearer,  so  long  in  charge  of  the 
Richmond  agency,  was  intrusted  with  the  work,  and  to 
his  assistance  he  called  the  man  who  had  shared  with 
him  other  trusts  and  toils. 

In  the  cabins  of  Colorado  miners  we  next  find 
Uncle  John.  It's  hard  material  that  he  here  comes  in 
contact  with  and  seeks  to  mould  for  holiness  and 
heaven.  He  takes  in  the  situation  at  a  glance,  and 
says,  "  No  man  of  weak  faith  and  little  love  can  succeed 
here.  It  will  take  a  soul  of  the  John  Knox  stamp  to 
get  hold  of  the  men  who  venture  here  for  silver  and 
gold."  But  undaunted  by  what  is  unpromising,  he 
strikes  right  in.  Before  he  leaves,  these  adventurers 
and  fortune-seekers  are  melted  under  the  truth  of  God, 
as  voiced  by  loving  lips  and  energized  by  the  Spirit's 
might.  Hear  him  tell  again  the  old  story  :  "  We  had 
four  meetings  on  Sunday,  and  I  have  not  seen  more 
tears  shed  for  a  long  time.  Strong  men  broke  down 
as  they  were  plead  with,  or  while  prayer  was  being 
offered  in  their  behalf.  A  few  very  devout  souls  are  to 
be  found  here,  and  I  have  enjoyed  a  rich  feast  of  love 
with  them." 


A'EJV   CAMPAIGNS,  143 

He  finds  a  little  English  lad  in  the  boarding  house 
who  has  recently  given  his  heart  to  Christ,  and  he  sets 
him  to  work  distributing  religious  reading,  and  begs 
the  brethren  at  the  rooms  on  Nassau  Street  to  send  the 
young  disciple  longing  to  be  useful  twenty  copies  of 
the  Messenger  monthly  to  circulate. 

At  Virginia  City,  Sacramento,  and  at  Stockton  he 
labors  for  a  few  days  with  different  pastors,  and  Mr. 
Shearer  reports  that  this  wayside  sowing  everywhere 
bears  fruit. 

In  the  first-named  town  on  Sunday  afternoon  he 
exhorted  in  front  of  a  noted  gambling  saloon.  "  The 
attendance  was  large  and  the  attention  good.  Some 
at  the  close  returned  to  their  games  disappointed  that 
w  ith  such  a  crowd  there  could  not  have  been  so  much 
as  a  dog  fight  ;  others  wondered  where  the  margin  for 
profit  could  be,  inasmuch  as  both  the  talking  and  the 
tracts  were  free  ;  but  in  many  ears  the  familiar,  yet 
long-forgotten,  words  of  entreaty,  invitation,  and  warn- 
ing came  with  an  almost  melting  power." 

In  San  Francisco  an  agency  of  the  Society  is  estab- 
lished, and  some  stirring  meetings  held  there,  as  well 
as  at  Oakland  and  other  towns  in  the  interior,  or  up 
and  down  the  coast.  The  Chinese,  that  now  vexing 
factor  in  the  national  problem,  were  then  beginning  to 
crowd  over  to  our  Pacific  slope,  and  they  greatly  inter- 
ested Uncle  John.  With  one  or  two  who  had  recently 
been  converted  he  had  protracted  and  pleasant  inter- 
views, for  every  redeemed  soul  his  heart  v/ent  out  to 
as  a  brother's,  whatever  the  nationality  or  name. 


144  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR. 

An  influential  pastor  of  the  city,  in  communicating 
wilh  the  '*  Rooms,"  says  :  "  The  people  are  greatly  in 
love  with  Uncle  John,  and  I  do  not  wonder.  Wher- 
ever he  goes  the  Lord  is  sure  to  be  with  him.  He  is 
now  among  Dr.  Scudder's  people,  and  the  elders  are 
going  from  house  to  house  with  him  with  tears." 

While  in  San  Francisco  friends  plan  for  him  a  little 
trip  for  rest.  They  arrange  that  he  shall  visit  the  Yo- 
semite  Valley,  and  see  God's  wonders  in  nature  there. 
Always  thinking  of  toil,  and  not  of  sight-seeing  or  ease, 
he  doubts  at  first  whether  it  will  be  right  for  him  to 
go  ;  whether  it  will  not  be  misappropriating  time — time 
which  should  be  given  to  saving  souls.  His  scruples 
finally  are  overcome,  and  with  congenial  companions  he 
spends  a  week  surrounded  by  what  is  stupendous  and 
sublime.  Mere  recreation,  however,  by  no  means  en- 
grosses his  time  or  thought.  All  the  grandeur  and 
beauty  that  meet  his  eyes  are  a  mirror  glassing  the  per- 
fections of  their  Author,  and  his  Father  and  Friend. 
All  the  while  he  is  breaking  forth  in  praise.  W'hen  the 
Sabbath  comes  he  and  his  brethren  worship  with  a 
group  of  Digger  Indians  gathered  around  and  looking 
curiously  on.  Oh,  how  Uncle  John  yearns  for  the 
ability  to  tell  these  degraded  specimens  of  human 
kind  of  Jesus  and  His  love  !  If  he  could  have  seen  one 
of  these  stupid  imbruted  savages  accepting  Christ  it 
v/ould  have  delighted  him  more  than  the  glories  of 
towering  cliffs  and  plunging  cataracts.  All  he  could 
do  toward  reaching  them,  however,  was  to  pray  God  to 
speak  to  them  by  a  tongue  that  they  could  understand. 


NEW   CAMPAIGNS.  145 

On  this  Western  trip  he  makes  a  brief  halt  at  Salt 
Lake  City,  of  which  v/e  have  no  record,  but  another 
Christian  laborer  subsequently  appointed  to  that  hard 
field  found  traces  of  his  fidelity,  evidences  that  he  vig- 
orously tilled  a  bit  of  that  stubborn  soil,  and  that  the 
effort  was  not  altogether  vain. 

Florida  now  claims  him  again  for  the  winter.  And 
the  next  summer  Kansas  is  stirred  by  him  as  he  pushes 
from  city  to  city,  and  from  town  to  town,  seeking  to 
interest  Christian  women  especially  and  get  them  to 
organize  local  societies  for  the  visitation  of  families 
and  the  distribution  of  tracts  and  books.  A  regular 
system  is  in  many  places  introduced.  The  larger  cen- 
ti-es  of  population  are  districted,  and  delegates  found 
for  each  section  or  street.  Stated  meetings  are  ar- 
ranged for,  with  reports. 

These  in  brief  were  the  engagements  and  undertak- 
ings of  what  we  have  called  his  new  campaigns.  The 
frcedmen,  the  poor  whites  of  the  South,  the  miners  of 
Nevada  and  Colorado  and  California,  the  Mormons  of 
Utah,  the  new  settlers  on  the  plains  of  Kansas  and 
along  her  streams,  the  hardy  mountaineers  of  Kentucky 
and  East  Tennessee — all  were  plied  with  whatsoever 
Gospel  truth  could  awe  or  win,  attract  or  alarm,  and 
upborne  on  the  strong  arms  of  wrestling  prayer. 

The  variety  of  incident  entering  into  years  of  such 
service  eventually  becomes  thin  and  dreamy.  It  fades 
out  of  sight  as  the  shore  does  to  the  receding  voyager. 
Standing  on  the  vessel's  deck  as  it  leaves  port,  the 
passenger  sees  object  after  object  disappear,  till  finally 


146  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR, 

even  high-topped  hills  and  the  light-house  on  the  roc]^ 
are  no  longer  visible.  Time  and  its  experiences  so  sink 

'away.  Occurrences  which  impressed  us  deeply  at  the 
first  cease  to  be  remembered  as  we  travel  on  and  they 
are  left  further  off.  If  a  tithe  of  what  Uncle  John  haa 
told  us  about  the  days  just  reviewed  could  be  recalled 
and  repeated  here  it  would  be  of  thrilling  interest. 
Much  of  it  would  make  the  eye  moisten  and  the  heart 
glow.  If  forgotten  by  us,  however,  all  these  details 
and  circumstances  God  remembers,  and  keeps  them 
working  in  the  wide  scheme  of  an  unsleeping  provi- 
dence toward  the  foreseen  and  foretold  dominion  of  His 
Son.  How  vast  may  be  the  range  of  a  blessing  drop- 
ping first  in  a  negro  hut  or  a  prairie  cabin  !  Who  can 
calculate  the  final  issues  of  an  influence  for  good  start- 
ing on  its  line  of  march  with  a  tract  left  at  a  door,  or  a 
prayer  offered  within  ?  Who  can  limit  the  effect  of  an 
interview  like  this  which  we  have  heard  Uncle  John 
describe  ?  We  think  it  happened  during  his  earlier 
labors  in  the  West. 

In  one  house  that  was  entered  the  praying  wife  of 
an  infidel  husband  begged  that  a  Bible  might  be  given 
her,  as  there  had  been  none  in  the  home  during  all  their 
married  life.   One  was  furnished  her,  and  the  missionary 

,  went  his  way.  Plardly  had  he  gone  out  of  sight  when 
the  husband  came  in,  and  instantly  his  eye  lit  upon  the 
book.  One  glance  aroused  all  his  rage.  Seizing  the 
volume  with  one  hand,  and  his  axe  with  the  other,  he 
hurried  out  to  the  wood-pile,  and  laying  it  on  the  chop- 
ping-block,  he  cut  it   through  and  through.     Coming 


N£JF   CAMPAIGNS,  147 

back  to   the   cabin  with  the  two  pieces,  he  hurled  one 
toward   the  wife,  saying  in   a  mocking  tone,  "  As  you 
claim  a  part   of  all   the  property  around  here,  there  is 
your  share  of  this."       The  other  half  was  pitched  up 
into  a  niche  where  tools  were  sometimes  kept.   Months 
passed.     The  timid  wife  could  only  pray.     One  wet  or 
wintry  day,  when  the  man  was  indoors,  with  little  to  do, 
finding  the  time  hang  heavy,  he  looked  around  for  some- 
thing to    read.       Reading  matter  in    that  home   was 
scarce.  While  rummaging  around  in  this  nook  in  search 
of  some  old  newspaper,  what  should  turn  up  but  his  half 
of  the  mutilated  book.     To  while  away  the  monotony 
of  the  hour  he  took  it  up.     Was  it  by  accident  that  he 
opened   at  the   parable  of  the  prodigal  ?     He  did  not 
remember  having  seen  it  before.     By  its  simplicity  he 
was  charmed.     Presently  the  narrative  was  broken  off. 
To  finish  it  he  must  have  the  missing  piece.   Unwilling 
to  ask  for  it,  and  so  acknowledge  that  even  his  curiosity 
was  stirred,  he  cast  stealthy  glances  here  and  there  to 
see  if  it  would  not   appear.     But  its  wary  owner  had 
safely  hidden  her  fragment  of  Scripture,  and  his  hunt 
was  vain.    Pretty  soon  inquisitiveness  conquered  pride, 
and  at  his  request  the  wife  produced  her  piece.     The 
story  was  finished.     It  was  read  over  again  and  again. 
Need  the   outcome   of   the  whole   be  told  ?     Another 
wanderer  fell  at  the  Father's  feet.     Another  penitent 
was  folded  in  the   Father's  arms.     Another  bitter  op- 
poser  became  the  champion  of  a  faith  which  all  his  life 
he  had  labored  to  destroy. 

Had  Uncle  John  emptied  out  that  day  on  the  cabin- 


148  UNCLE  JOHN  VASSAR. 

floor  bags  of  gold,  that  had  been  a  smaller  gift.  Money 
might  have  wrought  the  godless  settler's  ruin.  It  might 
have  helped  perpetuate  unbelief  in  his  own  and  other 
souls.  It  might  have  blotted  his  name  out  of  every 
promise  and  put  it  into  every  curse  of  heaven.  The 
Book  of  God  put  into  that  home,  with  its  blood  of  re- 
demption, sealed  his  title  to  a  celestial  inheritance,  and 
made  the  man  the  pioneer  of  other  scoffers  back  to 
God. 

Again  we  ask  where  the  influence  of  one  such  occur- 
rence is  to  end.  Surely  "  the  shock  of  the  archangel's 
trumpet  will  not  break  it,  nor  the  gulf  of  eternity  swal- 
low it  up." 

A  friend  sends  the  following  narrative  as  related  to 
him  by  Uncle  John,  which  illustrates  his  habit  as  well  as 
his  success  in  following  up  a  case. 

*'  It  was  a  great  thing — one  of  the  richest  treats,  to 
hear  him  relate  the  history  of  cases  out  of  the  journal  of 
his  experiences.  No  tale  of  adventure  was  ever  more 
fascinating  than  these  accounts  as  he  gave  them.  I  have 
known  a  tent-full  of  army  officers,  most  of  them  ungodly 
men,  listen  to  him  a  whole  evening  with  the  most  ab- 
sorbed attention  while  he  described  conversions  that 
took  place  going  on  twenty  years  before.  It  is  hardly 
necessary  to  say  that  under  such  circumstances  his  story- 
telling was  always  preaching  in  disguise.  His  style  was 
all  his  own ;  he  was  an  exceedingly  rapid  talker,  full  of 
life  and  action,  and  it  would  be  impossible  to  reproduce 
his  narrations  of  this  sort.  But  one  that  I  remember  ran 
somewhat  thus : 


NEW  CAMPAIGNS.                           149 
There  was  a  man  in  county,  a    Mr.   R , 


who  lived  away  from  everybody  in  a  log-house  ;  I  never 
shall  forget  the  time  I  had  with  him.  Oh,  how  he 
did  hate  to  repent !  But  he  had  to  at  last.  Grace  was 
too  much  for  him.  And  then  he  had  an  excellent  Chris- 
tian wife,  as  so  many  men  have.  That  helped  a  good 
deal.  He  was  fond  of  his  wife,  and  sometimes  he  over- 
heard her  praying.  He  knew  how  she  felt  about  it.  I 
suppose  I  saw  that  man  twenty  times.  Sometimes  he 
was  good-natured  and  sometimes  he  was  not.  How  mad 
he  would  be  once  in  a  while,  just  because  I  said  a  friend- 
ly word  to  him  about  his  soul !  You  see,  he  was  not  at 
ease  in  his  sins.  Men  never  are.  They  try  to  be  and 
pretend  to  be,  but  they  are  not.  They  cannot  be.  The 
impenitent  sinner  is  not  happy.  This  man  used  to  be 
very  angry  sometimes.  But  he  never  struck  me.  He 
came  pretty  near  it  once  or  twice,  and  I  thought  he  was 
going  to,  but  he  did  not.  It  was  after  I  had  known  him 
a  good  while,  that  one  day  when  I  had  gone  out  into  the 
lot  where  he  was  at  work  to  find  him,  he  dropped  his 
hoe  and  came  at  me  fierce  as  a  lion,  cursing  and  swearing^ 
I   stood  still  and  he  stopped,  and  we  stood  and  looked 

at  each  other.     Finally  I  said,  'O  Mr.  K ,  you  will 

never  have  any  peace  till  you  give  your  heart  to  God !' 
and  I  know  that  I  spoke  kindly,  for  I  felt  just  like  crying, 
I  was  so  sorry  for  him.  But  it  seemed  to  make  him  only 
angrier  still.  He  fairly  foamed  at  the  mouth,  and,  shout- 
ing at  the  top  of  his  voice,  he  told  me  to  leave  and  never 
let  him  see  my  face  again,  or  he  would  kill  me.  I  did  not 
answer  a  word,  and  walked  quietly  away ;  but  I  felt  pret- 
7* 


I50  UNCLE  JOHN  VASSAR. 

ty  sure  that  the  end  was  near,  and  that  he  could  not  hold 
out  much  longer.  The  next  time  I  came  that  way,  as  I 
approached  his  house,  I  thought  I  saw  him  slip  around 
the  corner  of  the  house  and  make  for  the  barn,  like  a 
person  trying  to  get  out  of  sight.  I  went  to  the  door 
and  asked  his  wife  where  he  was.  *  Oh,  my  poor  hus- 
band !'  she  said,  and  the  tears  came  into  her  eyes.  '  Have 
courage,'  I  said ;  *  I  believe  the  Lord  will  find  him  this 
day.  Where  is  he  V  *  He  told  me  not  to  tell  you  where 
he  was,'  she  replied.  '  He  saw  you  coming  and  went  out 
to  get  away  from  you,  but — but — 1  think  he  went  toward 
the  barn.' 

"'Now,  dear  sister,'  said  I,  'you  stay  here  and  pray, 
and  I  will  go  and  try  to  find  him.'  I  went  out  to  the  barn. 
I  knew  that  his  proud  heart  must  be  giving  way,  else  he 
would  not  have  avoided  me  so.  I  tried  one  of  the  barn 
doors.     It  was  fastened.     I   knocked.     No  answer.     It 

was  as  still  as  the  grave  inside.     '  O  Mr.  R ,'  I  cried, 

*let  me  in,  do  let  me  in  !  I  'm  nobody  but  a  poor  smner 
saved  by  grace,  and  the  same  grace  will  save  you,  if 
you  will  only  let  it !  Let  me  in  for  Christ's  sake  ;  please 
do  !'  Then  I  passed  around  to  another  door  and  found 
that  fastened,  too,  and  knocked  there,  and  again  I  begged 
him  to  let  me  in. 

"  At  last,  when  I  began  to  be  afraid  I  must  give  him 
up  for  that  time,  as  I  listened,  I  heard  a  sigh  and  a  step; 
then  more  steps  coming  toward  me.  I  heard  him  un- 
locking the  door.  I  did  not  know  what  was  going  to 
happen  next.  The  door  opened  slowly,  and  there  he 
stood.     You  needed  to  look  but  once   to  see  that  the 


NE  W  CAMPAIGNS.  151 

Lord  had  won  the  fight.  His  face  was  pale,  but  there 
was  no  anger  in  it.  He  tried  to  speak  but  he  could  not. 
I  went  right  up  to  him  and  took  him  by  the  hand,  and 

said,  'O  my  dear   Mr.  R ,  let  us  kneel  down  and 

thank  God  together  ;'  and  so  we  did.  There  were  a  good 
many  more  tears  in  that  prayer  than  words.  '  Now,'  said 
he,  as  soon  as  he  could  control  his  voice,  *  let  us  go  in 
and  see  my  wife.'  I  tell  you  the  two  minutes  it  took 
us  to  go  from  the  barn  to  the  house  were  the  happiest 
two  minutes  he  had  ever  seen.  And  you  ought  to 
have  seen  that  woman's  face  when  she  saw  us  coming 
in  together !  She  knew  what  it  meant.  Besides,  a 
single  glance  at  him  was  enough.  It  seems  to  me  I 
never  saw  so  happy  a  woman  in  my  life." 

"Uncle  John  accepted  fully  Rutherford's  exhortation: 
"  Take  as  many  with  you  to  heaven  as  you  are  able  to 
draw ;  the  more  you  draw  with  you,  you  shall  be  the 
welcomer  yourself." ' 

We  are  brought  now  down  to  1871.  Uncle  John 
has  seven  years  remaining  in  which  to  war  the  good 
warfare.  It  will  be  carried  on  in  what  might  be  called 
"  the  Department  of  the  East." 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
ALL  ALONG  THE   LINES. 

"  Every  battle  I  shall  win, 
Triumph  over  every  sin, 
'  What ! '  you  say,  '  a  victor  be  ?* 
No,  not  I,  but  Christ  in  me." 

If  there  is  any  one  part  of  our  country  which  more 
than  another  might  seem  to  have  Httle  use  for  such  a 
man  as  Uncle  John  it  is  the  New  England  States. 
Settled  by  men  characterized  to  a  pre-eminent  degree 
by  regard  for  religious  things,  populated  still  chiefly 
by  their  descendants,  studded  with  churches  whose 
pulpits  are  occupied  by  preachers  inferior  in  ability 
and  devotedness  to  no  others  in  the  land,  blessed  with 
revivals  reaching  wide  and  deep,  it  would  look  as 
though  these  ancient  Christian  commonwealths  would 
have  little  work  for  a  colporteur  anywhere  within  their 
bounds. 

It  is  a  fact,  however,  that  old-established  churches, 
and  communities  long  leavened  by  gospel  truth,  some- 
times need  to  have  their  decorous  and  conventional 
ways  broken  in  upon  as  the  smooth  religious  life  of 
eighteen  hundred  years  ago  was  broken  in  upon  by 
"  the  voice  of  one  crying  in  the  wilderness." 

There  is  such  a  tendency  to  get  into  ruts  of  creed 
and    conduct,   and    go    jogging    monotonously  along 


'G    THE  LINES.  153 

them,  that  eveiy  now  and  then  something  needs  to 
occur  that  shall  start  us  out  of  them,  and  make  religion 
seem  an  awfully  earnest  thing.  Hence  it  was  that 
Uncle  John  was  invited  to  labor  in  strong  churches  of 
Massachusetts  and  Connecticut,  the  history  of  some  of 
which  runs  almost  back  to  the  coming  of  the  May- 
flower, as  well  as  amid  their  rural  neighborhoods  in 
which,  on  account  of  removals  westvv^ard  or  the  concen- 
tration of  population  in  the  manufacturing  towns, 
gospel  influence  had  to  some  extent  declined.  In  these 
States  he  spent  a  large  part  of  his  last  half  dozen  years  ; 
but  as  Maine,  Rhode  Island,  New  York,  and  New 
Jersey  shared  his  labors  during  that  period  to  some 
extent,  we  attach  to  these  scattered  operations  the 

caption,  ALL  ALONG  THE   LINES. 

Christian  brethren  in  the  various  communities 
thus  visited  send  accounts  more  or  less  complete  of 
the  way  God  wrought  through  him  and  by  him  to 
arouse  and  save. 

Rev.  I.  C.  Meserve,  of  New  Haven,  Conn.:  "I 
had  just  entered  upon  my  ministry  when  I  first  savv^ 
him.  He  came  to  my  study  to  see  me,  and  at  first  I 
thought  him  some  harmless  but  decidedly  crazy  man. 
In  less  than  an  hour,  however,  the  truth  broke  in 
upon  me  that  a  Christian  was  in  my  house  of  a  type 
hitherto  unknown.  He  stayed  a  few  days  with  me  and 
we  then  formed  a  friendship  which  death  has  not  sev- 
ered and  which  I  count  one  of  the  richest  treasures  of 
my  life. 

"  Two  or  three  incidents  occurred  that  most  admir* 


154  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR, 

ably  illustrate  his  spirit  and  his  methods.  This  as 
showing  the  temper  with  which  he  met  rebuff.  One 
day  we  met  a  prominent  church  member.  I  introduc- 
ed them,  and  the  conversation  was  not  long  in  reach- 
ing the  plainly  but  kindly  put  question,  '  Are  you  a 
child  of  God  and  how  is  it  with  you  ?'  The  angry  and 
unexpected  answer  was,  *  I  don't  answer  any  such  ques- 
tions. I  don't  do  business  that  way,  sir.'  Uncle 
John  took  no  offence,  but  simply  explained  that  as  a 
member  of  the  Lord's  kingdom  he  wished  to  com- 
municate in  the  language  of  that  kingdom  with  any 
fellow-member  whom  he  met. 

"  We  passed  on  and  soon  saw  a  man  approaching 
who  was  not  a  believer  in  a  personal  devil.  I  so  inform- 
ed Uncle  John,  who,  on  being  introduced,  went  on  to 
state  that  he  was  a  colporteur  of  the  American  Tract 
Society,  travelling  over  the  country  fighting  the  devil  ; 
'  And  do  you  know,  brother,  I  find  some  people  who 
don't  believe  there  is  any  devil  ;  but  you  and  I  know 
that  these  are  his  greatest  dupes.'  It  was  a  master 
stroke  of  policy  and  tact  and  skill. 

"  I  saw  him  with  an  old  man  of  more  than  eighty 
who  had  resisted  gospel  influences  all  his  life,  and  ap- 
parently was  totally  unconcerned.  In  ten  minutes  his 
indifference  melted,  and  with  flowing  tears  he  confess- 
ed his  need  of  Christ.  I  watched  that  encounter  with 
intense  interest,  for  it  was  like  a  duel  of  wit  and  argu- 
ment, and  discerned  that  the  rarest  powers  in  soul- 
searching  were  possessed  by  Uncle  John. 

**  For  three  successive  winters  he  helped  me  when  I 


ALL   ALONG    THE  LLNES.  155 

was  pastor  of  the  little  church  in  State  street,  Brook- 
lyn, N.  Y.,  and  under  God  I  believe  he  saved  it  from 
disbanding  in  despair.  Such  praying  and  pleading  in 
public  and  private — my  heart  grows  hot  with  the 
memory  of  it. 

*  *  I  saw  him  on  his  knees  one  day  In  our  lecture-room 
at  the  close  of  Sunday-school,  pleading  for  the  children, 
some  of  whom  were  gathered  around.  I  watched  to 
note  the  effect  of  the  prayer.  Presently  a  boy  a  dozen 
or  more  years  old  dropped  on  his  knees,  then  he 
crawled  under  Uncle  John's  uplifted  arm,  and  finally 
threw  himself  sobbing  upon  that  broad  breast,  as  true 
a  Christian  from  that  hour  forward  as  I  ever  met. 
Others  followed,  and  the  dear  old  man  was  presently 
surrounded  by  a  group  who  were  led  to  the  very  foot 
of  the  cross  by  that  prayer.  And  it  was  not  undue 
excitement  either.  I  want  to  bear  witness  to  the  fact 
that  those  who  were  converted  under  his  labors  were 
as  reliable  in  their  after  lives  as  any  Christians  whom 
I  have  known.  The  lad  spoken  of  became  a  power  in 
the  church,  and  in  his  own  home  too. 

"  And  I  want  to  speak  here  of  a  prayer-meeting  in 
my  own  house  one  night,  in  which  I  came  nearer  real- 
izing heaven  upon  earth  than  ever  before  or  since. 
We  had  been  having  a  blessed  time  at  the  church  that 
night,  and  from  it  came  back — my  wife,  my  brother 
(then  preparing  for  the  ministry),  and  myself.  After  a 
few  minutes*  conversation  Uncle  John  suggested  a 
season  of  prayer  together  before  going  to  the  night's 
rest.     The  memory  of  those  next  minutes  will  only 


156  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR. 

fade  with  life.  With  melted  hearts  and  streaming 
eyes  by  way  of  Calvary  we  drew  near  our  Lord. 
Uncle  John  seemed  to  me  that  night  like  a  guide  who 
knew  every  inch  of  the  road  and  took  us  right  into  the 
secret  place  of  the  Most  High. 

"  After  I  came  to  New  Haven  to  take  charge  of 
the  Davenport  Church,  he  labored  with  me  between 
two  and  three  weeks.  The  number  of  converts  was 
large,  but  the  impetus  given  to  the  spiritual  life  of  the 
church,  and  especially  the  type  which  its  character 
took  on  was  so  marked  that  its  progress  has  been 
wonderful.  Hundreds  have  been  attracted  to  it,  and 
I  am  confident  that  it  v/as  largely  because  of  Uncle 
John  that  these  blessed  results  came. 

"  Of  one  more  fact  let  me  tell.  He  went  by  invita- 
tion several  winters  ago  to  one  of  our  Connecticut 
towns,  and  was  met  by  a  spirit  of  decided  opposition. 
Some  threatened  to  personally  maltreat  him  if  he  ven- 
tured into  their  homes.  So  v/onderfully,  however,  did 
God  work  that  in  a  fev/  days  he  was  in  those  very 
houses,  and  greeted  with  a  *  Come  in.  Uncle  John,  we 
have  been  waiting  and  wanting  to  see  you  here.'  The 
witnesses  of  his  power  over  the  minds  and  consciences 
and  heartsof  men  are  numbered  by  thousands  in  New 
England,  and  all  because  he  was,  as  much  as  any  pro- 
phet of  old,  *  a  man  of  God.*  " 

Rev.  Mr.  Zabrlskie,  now  of  Wollaston,  Mass.,  fur- 
nishes the  following  graphic  sketch  : 

"  One  afternoon,  in  the  summer  of  1872,  I  receiv- 
ed a  call  at  my  parsonage   at  Old  Saybrook,  Conn.     I 


ALL   ALONG    THE  LINES.  157 

did  not  catch  the  name  of  my  visitor  so  as  to  recognize 
it,  and  on  entering  the  reception  room  I  looked  with 
some  suspicion  on  the  travel  stained  man  whom  I 
found  waiting  there.  I  received  so  many  itinerants  of 
various  degrees  of  dubiousness,  that  I  had  come  to 
throw  the  burden  of  proof  on  them  in  the  establish- 
ment of  their  genuineness  and  respectability.  But  by 
and  by  as  it  dawned  on  me  that  this  was  Uncle  John 
Vassar,  the  modern  successor,  if  not  of  the  apostles, 
yet  of  the  *  seventy,'  and  the  latchets  of  whose  dusty 
shoes  I  was  not  worthy  to  stoop  down  and  unloose, 
there  was  a  sudden  and  decided  revolution  in  my  m.en- 
tal  attitude  and  reception.  He  had  been  laboring 
with  Dr.  Goodell,  then  of  New  Britain,  and  elsewhere 
in  that  region,  and  was  passing  through  Saybrook  to 
take  the  night-boat  to  New  York,  and  having  a  little 
time  to  spare  he  as  usual  paid  his  respects  to  the  min- 
ister to  inquire  concerning  the  spiritual  condition  of 
the  place.  When  he  left  it  v/as  with  the  promise  that 
if  the  Tract  Society  would  so  arrange  it  he  would  come 
and  work  with  me.  I  directed  him  to  the  boat,  but 
hardly  had  I  closed  the  door  than  it  occurred  to  me 
that  I  had  not  shown  him  the  attention  belonging  to 
the  courier  of  the  King,  and  that  I  ought  to  see  him 
further  on  his  way.  Hastily  donning  my  out-door 
attire,  I  started  after  and  overtook  him  about  half  way 
to  the  wharf,  which  was  something  like  a  mile  away. 

**  My  heart  burned  within  me  while  we  talked  to- 
gether on  the  road.  I  took  occasion  to  introduce  him  to 
several  whom  I  met,  even  stopping  two  or  three  v/agons 


158  UNCLE  JOHN  VASSAR. 

for  the  purpose.  To  every  one  he  gave  a  word  in  sea- 
son, and  most  of  them  wore  a  puzzled  look  at  this  Philip 
starting  up  beside  their  chariots  among  the  desert  sand- 
heaps  of  Saybrook  Point.  As  some  time  would  elapse 
before  the  boat  would  sail,  I  left  him  at  the  Point  and 
returned  home.  But  these  waiting  hours  were  not 
wasted  ones,  for  not  a  few  laborers  and  loungers  heard 
the  Gospel  from  his  lips  even  there. 

"  He  was  detailed  by  the  Society  to  work  in  Say- 
brook,  and  made  his  first  appearance  in  our  church  on 
Sabbath  morning,  November  loth.  After  the  sermon 
he  arose  in  the  midst  of  the  congregation  to  say  a  few 
words  by  way  of  greeting  and  preparation  for  what  he 
was  there  to  undertake.  His  movement  was  so  unex- 
pected and  so  unprecedented  in  that  staid  old  com- 
munity, his  appearance  so  plain,  his  speech  so  search- 
ing, that  the  general  impression  was  unfavorable. 
Many  afterwards  confessed  that  it  took  them  a  long 
while  to  get  over  their  prejudice.  Possibly  the  time 
and  mode  were  not  well  chosen.  Mr.  Vassar  always 
contended  that  he  was  best  adapted  to  personal  effort. 
But  the  real  '  offence'  was  that  he  spoke  to  Christian 
professors  in  such  an  uncompromising  way  about  their 
duty,  and  in  such  a  startling  way  about  their  state, 
that  every  one  whose  heart  was  not  honest  with  itself, 
or  whose  peace  was  a  false  one,  was  sure  to  be  stung 
and  irritated. 

"  As  he  went  through  the  town  I  was  greatly  inter- 
ested to  observe  his  progress  as  a  kind  of  touch-stone 
He  was  a  veritable  sword  of  the  Spirit,  discerning  the 


A    NEW    ENGLAND    "DISTRICT   SCHOOL 


ALL   ALONG    THE  LINES.  x^cy 

thoughts  and  intents  of  the  heart  and  laying  bare  its 
secret.  The  '  poor  in  spirit'  were  sure  to  be  revealed, 
I  think  he  could  hardly  have  encountered  more  odium 
and  opposition  anywhere,  especially  among  the  mem- 
bers of  the  churches.  Many  of  my  own  people  regard- 
ed him  with  great  disfavor.  The  part  of  the  town 
which  had  once  been  the  source  and  centre  of  revival 
work,  but  which  had  fallen  into  formalism  and  routine, 
was  the  part  in  which  he  found  least  sympathy  and 
encouragement.  Those  parts,  on  the  contrary,  which 
were  regarded  as  the  most  hopeless  and  God-forsaken, 
were  those  where  he  was  most  welcome  and  successful. 
The  poor  and  prodigal  felt  the  beatings  of  his  great 
heart  as  seeker  for  souls.  The  most  unexpected  people 
in  every  rank  of  life  '  took'  to  him,  and  there  were 
equally  unexpected  cases  of  revulsion  or  dislike.  I 
said  that  his  first  public  appearance  in  Saybrook  was 
November  loth.  Really  it  v/as  on  the  9th,  for  on  that 
evening,  at  his  request,  I  rallied  a  little  group  in  my 
parlor  to  pray.  These  brethren  were  completely  won 
to  him  and  to  the  work.  Had  there  been  time  to 
gather  a  larger  number  that  night,  his  sudden  appari- 
tion in  the  guise  of  an  Elijah  in  our  decorous  church 
the  next  day  might  have  produced  a  different  effect. 

"On  Sunday  afternoon  and  evening  Mr.  Vassar 
attended  all  the  Sunday-schools  and  prayer-meetings 
he  could  reach.  During  the  week  he  attended  and 
addressed  the  district  schools.  One  young  man  who 
v/as  teaching  declared  that  he  would  not  allow  it,  but 
the  old  veteran  stormed  the  castle  and  took  possession. 


/6o  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR. 

He  was  a  big  child  everywhere,  and  could  sway  and 
win  a  group  of  children  at  his  will. 

"  On  Monday  morning  he  started  out,  with  his  dis- 
tricts and  families  all  designated,  and  began  to  button- 
hole every  one  he  met  with  the  characteristic  question, 
'  Are  you  sure  that  you  have  been  born  again  ?'  As  I 
was  able  I  went  with  him.  Some  remarkable  scenes 
took  place.  We  saw  a  young  man  chopping  wood  in 
his  back-yard.  We  stepped  across  the  road  and  Uncle 
John  plied  him  with  sword  thrusts.  The  effect 
was  such  that  he  felt  prayer  was  needed,  and  there  by 
the  fence,  the  youth  on  one  side  and  we  on  the  other, 
we  took  off  our  hats  and  prayed.  The  young  man 
was  one  of  the  converts  soon. 

"  At  a  store  we  found  another  young  man  alone. 
He  found  himself  cornered,  and  submitted  to  the  in- 
terview v/ith  an  ill  grace,  and  a  sort  of  dazed  look  ; 
but  he,  too,  quickly  came  to  regard  that  interivew  with 
a  very  different  mind. 

"  At  another  place — the  post-office  I  think  it  was 
— a  group  was  assembled  around  the  stove.  He  there 
knelt  and  prayed  and  called  on  me  to  follow.  The 
town  was  soon  in  a  blaze  over  it,  and  not  all  of  fire 
from  above. 

"  We  had  a  season  of  great  quickening  and  many 
were  converted  to  the  Lord.  I  regard  this  work,  how- 
ever, as  chiefly  valuable  for  its  preparatory,  and  I 
might  almost  say  revolutionary,  effect.  That  fallow 
soil  needed  just  such  a  sub  soil  plow,  and  I  had  calcu- 
lated on  it  when  I  engaged  him  to  come.    It  was  a  hard 


ALL   ALONG    TILE  LINES.  i6i 

fight,  but  the  question  was  settled.  The  whole  theory 
of  religion  and  policy  of  work  were  changed  from  rou- 
tine to  rev^/alisrn,  and  the  fruits  have  been  ripening 
and  been  gathered  ever  since. 

"What  prodigous  labor  the  good  man  did  !  He 
did  not  realize  it  himself.  Tramp,  tramp,  from  dawn 
to  dark,  with  such  a  continuous  draft  upon  his  nerv- 
ous vigor  and  vitality.  I  have  often  marvelled  that 
he  held  out  so  long.  Oh,  how  rich  I  have  always  felt 
in  the  special  love  and  recognition  of  this  great  and 
saintly  soul.  My  children  loved  him  dearly  and  remem- 
ber him  to  this  day.  There  is  one  tune  he  used  to  sing 
which  we  call  '  Vassar  '  still.  The  words  he  used  to 
put  to  it  Vv^ere,  'Alas!  and  did  my  Saviour  bleed.' 
There  was  a  Catholic  woman  who  would  not  listen  to 
him  or  take  a  tract  from  his  hand,  but  she  did  finally 
suffer  him  to  sing.  And  to  this  tune,  whose  proper 
name  I  do  not  know,  he  raised  the  verse  : 

'  But  drops  of  grief  can  ne'er  repay 
The  debt  of  love  I  owe,' 

and  at  its  close  she  was  utterly  subdued  and  ultimately 
became  a  true  Christian.  Her  experience  she  used  to 
sum  up  in  the  words,  '  Ah  those  drops  of  grief,  those 
drops  of  grief — I  couldn't  get  over  them.' 

**  Perhaps  I  ought  to  add  one  incident  showing  that 
Uncle  John  was  capable  not  only  of  heroic  treatment, 
but  of  righteous  indignation  where  the  circumstances 
of  the  case  required  it.  At  a  house  where  we  had  been 
holding  a  neighborhood  prayer-meeting  one  night  a 
•anan  was  visiting  who  w,as  a  stranger  to  ms  all.     As  he 


i62  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR, 

was  one  who  remained  at  the  close  of  the  service  Uncle 
John  approached  him  with  his  tender  earnestness  and  ' 
searching  questions.  But  the  man  in  a  dogged  and 
discourteous  way  opposed  a  flat  denial  to  every  state- 
ment made,  especially  those  touching  his  accountabil- 
ity and  danger.  I  shall  never  forget  the  change  which 
came  over  Uncle  John's  manner.  He  rose  to  a  Sina- 
itic  attitude  above  the  wretched  caviller,  and  his  cap- 
tious and  blasphemous  speech,  as  if  for  the  moment  he 
was  wielding  the  divine  thunderbolts,  then  suddenly 
softening  into  an  almost  equally  awful  tenderness  he 
fairly  dragged  him  to  the  mercy-seat,  and  called  on  us 
to  pray.  Whether  the  fellow  was  savingly  affected  or 
not  I  cannot  tell,  as  he  left  the  place  the  following 
day,  but  he  was  morally  cowed  that  night,  and  crouched 
speechless  before  Uncle  John. 

"  I  have  been  privileged  to  labor  with  him  and  to  know 
of  his  labors  in  all  parts  of  our  country,  and  I  never  knew 
any  one  of  such  absolute  singleness  of  aim.  I  confess 
that,  above  all  men,  he  has  been  to  me  an  inspiration, 
an  evidence  of  Christianity,  and  an  instructor  in  direct, 
personal,  and  practical  work  in  saving  souls.  My  eyes 
are  moist  with  tender  sorrow,  as  I  write.  But  I  am  glad 
that  this  worn-out  veteran  of  Christ,  whose  body  was  lit- 
erally a  living  sacrifice  for  thirty  years,  has  been  mustered 
out  How  sweetly  his  weather-beaten,  toil-worn  body 
sleeps  and  rests.  How  joyfully  has  his  spirit  opened  its 
eyes  upon  Him  "  whom  not  having  seen  he  loved."  And 
how  great  the  works  which  follow  him  none  may  know 
till  the  resurrection. 


ALL  ALONG  TLLE  LLNES.  163 

"Whenever  we  met  he  took  me  in  his  arms  as  a 
father  would  a  son.  He  once  took  me  in  his  arms  before 
a  depot  full  of  people.  I  happened  to  be  at  the  station 
to  meet  a  train,  and  whom  should  I  see  devouring  a  hasty 
lunch,  but  Uncle  John.  I  hailed  him.  With  fork  and 
sandwich  in  mid-air  he  responded  and  gave  me  a  hug,  and 
then  began  with  rapid  inquiries  about  the  work  in 
Saybrook,  and  statements  concerning  his  recent  labors 
elsewhere.  He  forgot  all  about  his  lunch,  and  it  was 
with  difficulty  I  could  prevent  his  being  left  behind  by 
the  train.  He  had  to  give  me  one  more  hug  after  the 
cars  began  to  move,  so  that  he  barely  scrambled  with  my 
help  upon  the  platform  at  imminent  risk  of  his  life.  And 
there  he  stood  nodding  and  gesticulating  till  out  of 
sight.  He  was  not  only  one  of  the  most  holy  and  con- 
secrated of  men,  but  one  of  the  most  original  and  attrac- 
tive." 

Rev.  J.  W.  Tuck,  now  of  Middletown,  Conn.,  tells 
of  labor  at  Jewett  City,  in  the  same  State,  in  connec- 
tion with  the  Congregational  church  there. 

**  He  came  to  my  house  on  Saturday  evening, 
November  29th,  1873.  The  way  had  been  measurably 
prepared  among  us  by  an  increased  number  of  meet- 
ings, and  a  prevalent  expectation  of  coming  good. 
The  next  day  he  listened  to  the  usual  preaching  in  the 
morning,  and  in  the  afternoon  the  order  of  the  service 
was  left  chiefly  in  his  hands.  After  the  reading  of  a 
few  verses  from  the  sixtieth  chapter  of  Isaiah  and  brief 
comments  thereon  by  the  pastor,  he  came  forward  and 
in  earnest  words  falling  from  lips  touched  as  with  a  liv- 
ing coal  addressed  the  church   for  thirty  minutes,  ex- 


1 64  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR. 

horting  them  to  let  their  light  shine  and  live  above  the 
world.  He  then  proposed  that  they  should  publicly 
renew  their  covenant  vows  by  coming  out  into  seats 
which  he  indicated.  The  request  at  first  seemed  in- 
judicious. The  congregation  was  a  most  conservative 
one,  the  proposition  was  unexpected,  and  the  man  who 
made  it  was  almost  unknown.  There  was  a  moment 
of  painful  suspense,  a  silence  that  could  almost  be  felt. 
Then  a  pew  door  near  the  front  swung  open,  and  one 
family  walked  out  and  complied  with  the  request. 
Another  and  another  followed  until  the  desired  separa- 
tion was  complete  ;  then  to  both  parts  of  his  audience 
were  addressed  other  ringing  words,  and  so  the  first 
meeting  closed  with  tokens  of  good.  In  the  evening  a 
large  assembly  met  in  our  conference  room.  The  meet- 
ing was  remarkable  for  its  solemnity,  but  no  new  de- 
monstrations on  the  part  of  saint  or  sinner  were  pro- 
posed. The  next  night  there  were  greater  numbers 
still,  and  a  deeper  interest  could  be  read  on  every  face. 
It  was  at  this  time  that  many  of  the  new  gospel  songs 
began  among  my  people  to  be  introduced.  Uncle 
John  was  a  sweet  singer  in  Israel,  and  those  pieces 
known  as  '  Wondrous  Love,'  '  Sweet  By  and  By,' 
*  Whiter  than  Snow,'  and  many  like  them  he  rang  out 
with  marvellous  effect,  and  they  will  be  associated 
with  his  name  and  work  for  a  long  time  to  come  by 
the  hundreds  who  first  heard  them  from  his  lips. 

**  On  this  second  evening  five  rose  for  prayer.  The 
next  night  fifteen  thus  responded  to  the  invitation, 
and   now  the  revival  broadened  and  deepened^  over- 


ALL   ALONG    THE  LINES.  165 

coming  opposition,  or  holding  it  in  check,  till  scores 
had  been  converted  to  Christ. 

"  The  special  meetings  continued  only  two  weeks 
though  they  were  kept  up  partially  all  the  winter,  but 
forty  were  added  to  our  membership  and  the  whole 
body  lifted  up  to  a  high  plane  of  Christian  life. 

"  The  name  of  Uncle  John  to  the  young  people  of 
my  former  charge — and  I  might  say  to  the  elders  also 
— is  to  this  day  an  inspiration,  and  his  memory  is  a 
sweet  savor  never  to  be  lost." 

In  the  course  of  his  evangelistic  labors  he  entered 
the  town  of  Otis,  in  Western  Massachusetts,  and  what 
happened  there  let  Rev.  O.  L.  Leonard,  who  spent  a 
week  with  him  on  that  ground,  tell. 

"  It  was  a  cold  dark  time  spiritually  when  Uncle 
John  arrived.  The  pastor  was  feeling  much  disheart- 
ened, and  said  to  him,  '  The  place  is  dead,  the  church 
is  dead,  we  are  all  dead  ;  if  you  can  do  anything  to 
help  us,  do  it.'  Uncle  John  went  out  and  began  to 
visit.  It  was  right  in  the  heat  of  summer,  and  the 
people,  who  were  mostly  farmers,  were  busy  in  the 
fields.  *  No  time  for  a  revival  now  ;'  that  was 
what  they  said  right  to  his  face. 

"  He  believed  that  the  dry  bones  could  live.     The 

church  was  opened.      It  was  soon  filled.     Soon  the  old 

cry  began  to  be  heard,  *  What  shall  I  do  to  be  saved  Y 

and  the  town  was  shaken  by  the  mighty  power  of  God, 

About  fifty  souls  were  converted  in  that  farming  region 

right  in  the  heat  of  summer." 
8 


1 66  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR. 

Another  who  was  led  to  Christ  during  these  meet- 
ings  reports  them  more  at  length. 

**  For  many  days  after  coming  to  Otis  Centre, 
Uncle  John  saw  almost  no  result  from  the  efforts  put 
forth.  Even  his  courage  seemed  somewhat  shaken, 
but  not  enough  to  make  him  let  go  or  even  relax  en- 
deavor. And  presently  the  blessing  came  like  the 
rush  of  many  waters.  The  writer  well  remembers  the 
evening  when  the  first  token  of  giving  way  appeared. 
The  meeting  had  been  more  constrained  than  usual, 
and  Uncle  John  was  perceptibly  cast  down.  Before  it 
closed  one  arose  and  requested  prayers.  The  effect 
was  electrical.  From  that  point  concern  took  the 
place  of  apathy,  and  salvation  moved  right  on.  The 
whole  town  was  shaken,  and  ultimately  the  towns 
around.  It  was  spoken  of  by  the  religious  press  as  the 
midsummer  revival,  and  the  scene  of  the  farmers  work- 
ing in  the  hay  field  all  day  and  attending  the  meeting 
at  evening  day  after  day  certainly  was  wonderful. 

"  The  tact  of  Uncle  John  seemed  almost  supernat- 
ural. Many  instances  of  his  unerring  judgment  in 
approaching  people  might  be  given,  but  two  or  three 
must  suffice.  One  man  had  arranged  for  an  argument 
with  Uncle  John  if  he  should  be  addressed,  which  he 
felt  sure  would  settle  the  whole  case.  Uncle  John 
gave  him  no  chance  to  speak.  He  came  up  all  smil- 
ing, invited  the  man  to  meeting,  told  him  he  knew  his 
duty,  and  before  an  answer  could  be  given  was  oft. 
The  man  began  to  think,  and  was  led  to  Christ. 

**  Another  had  arranged   for  a  ridiculous   scene  if 


ALL   ALONG    TLLE  LLNES.  167 

Uncle  John  came.  He  did  not  go  near  the  man,  and 
this  unlooked-for  way  of  disconcerting  the  carefully 
laid  scheme  set  reflection  working,  and  this  man  and 
his  wife  both  turned  to  the  Lord. 

"  All  too  soon  came  the  time  for  him  to  leave 
our  vicinity,  but  his  influence  remained,  and  for  a  long 
time  yet  his  name  will  be  revered  in  Otis,  and  his 
memory  be  a  power." 

From  North  Blandford,  where  he  wrought  the  fol 
lowing  summer,  these  reminiscences  come. 

"  I  was  at  work  in  my  garden  in  the  summer  of 
1875,  when  I  observed  an  odd  little  man  walking 
rapidly  toward  the  parsonage,  and  thinking  him  to  be 
some  book  agent  I  continued  my  work.  As  he  came 
up  he  said  in  a  pleasant  voice,  '  Watchman,  what  of 
the  night  ?  '  I  replied,  *  Glory  to  God,  the  morning 
Cometh/  He  extended  to  me  his  hand,  and  I  knew 
John  Vassar.  He  was  taken  at  once  into  the  parson- 
age and  quickly  into  all  our  hearts. 

**  The  work  contemplated  during  the  few  days  he 
could  remain  was  fully  discussed  ;  and  here  he  exhib- 
ited that  trait  of  Christian  character  which  was  every- 
where so  manifest,  his  humility.  He  began  his  labors 
with  me  Sunday,  July  i8th.  It  was  a  pleasant  day,  and 
many  came  to  hear  the  strange  man  of  whom  so  much 
had  been  said.  He  read  the  first  psalm  and  gave  a 
beautiful  exposition  of  it,  showing  how  mighty  he  was 
in  the  Word  of  God.  All  through  the  week  services 
were  kept  up  and  the  awakening  was  great.  Those  who 
never  came  to  the  sanctuary  were  hunted  to  their  hid- 


,68  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR, 

ing  places  and  led  out.  Stumbling  blocks  that  seemed 
in  the  way  were  removed,  and  though  his  stay  v/as 
short  he  prepared  the  way  for  the  rich  revival  that  fol- 
lowed. In  our  community  he  was  emphatically  a  John 
the  Baptist,  sent  to  prepare  the  way  of  the  Lord." 

Of  these  labors  in  Western  Massachusetts  Rev. 
George  L.  Ruberg,  then  a  pastor  in  that  section,  also 
gives  a  report.  "  Uncle  John's  introduction  to  this 
part  of  the  State  was  through  the  kindly  interest  of 
Homer  Merriam,  Esq.,  of  Springfield,  who  was  so 
deeply  concerned  about  the  low  state  of  religion  pre- 
vailing that  he  felt  constrained  to  assume  the  expense 
of  evangelical  labor  for  the  field.  Arrangements  were 
made  for  Uncle  John  to  visit  Otis  in  May,  1874.  A 
series  of  meetings  were  held  in  the  Congregational 
Church,  and  many  of  the  leading  citizens  of  the  village 
and  surrounding  community  were  led  to  Christ. 

"  During  the  work  the  hotel  was  even  opened  for 
prayer-meetings,  and  the  power  of  God  was  most 
graciously  displayed. 

"  So  manifest  was  the  good  accomplished  that  Mr. 
Merriam  determined  to  send  Uncle  John  on  a  summer 
campaign  amid  the  Berkshire  hills  ;  so  after  leaving 
Otis,  Sandisfield  secured  his  services  for  a  week.  In 
this  town  there  had  not  been  for  a  long  time  any  gen- 
eral revival  of  religion,  and  there  was  not  in  any  of  the 
churches  a  resident  male  member  under  thirty  years  of 
age,  though  we  had  a  larger  number  of  young  men  liv- 
ing there  than  in  any  town  around. 

"  Uncle  John's  visit  here  had  been  but  briefly  an- 


ALL   ALONG    THE  LLNES.  169 

nounced,  yet  the  church  at  Montville  village  was  ready- 
to  receive  him.  I  went  with  my  own  carriage  to  meet 
him,  and  found  him  out  calling  still,  so  anxious  was  he 
to  improve  even  the  last  moment  of  his  stay.  Hardly 
had  we  finished  dinner  before  he  said,  '  Are  there  no 
places  we  can  visit  yet  this  afternoon  ?'  The  inquiry 
impressed  me,  for  it  was  now  three  o'clock  or  later, 
and  I  had  expected  he  would  want  to  rest  so  as  to  be 
ready  for  the  meeting  at  night.  We  immediately 
started  out.  Our  first  call  was  at  the  post-office. 
Found  two  persons  beside  the  postmaster  in.  One 
was  a  Christian,  and  the  others  were  not.  All  v/ere 
tenderly  addressed  ;  then  with  his  hand  resting  on  the 
counter  and  standing  he  offered  a  short  but  most  fer- 
vent prayer.  I  shall  never  forget  that  scene,  and  what 
subsequently  occurred. 

"One  lady  on  whom  we   called  was  considered  a 
woman  of  devout  piety.     In  answer  to  the  question, 

*  Do  you  love  Jesus?  *     She  said,  rather  despondently, 

*  Not  half  so  well  as  I  ought.'  'Dear  sister,'  said 
Uncle  John,  *  I  wish  ycu  would  tell  me  how  I  can  love 
Him  more  ?  * 

From  the  first  day  of  his  coming  the  revival  v/ent 
steadily  on.  Although  for  a  farming  community  it 
was  the  busiest  season  of  the  year,  none  tried  to  ex- 
cuse themselves  from  being  seen.  Men  not  at  all  in 
sympathy  with  religious  things  would  lay  down  the 
hoe  in  the  field,  or  suspend  any  other  labor,  and  go 
into  the  house  for  conversation  and  prayer.  Uncle 
John  seemed  unwilling  to  pass  any  house. 


170  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR. 

**  The  last  night  he  was  in  our  place,  as  the  bell 
was  ringing  and  we  were  on  our  way  to  church,  we 
noticed  a  group  of  men  on  the  steps  of  a  store  oppo- 
site the  post-office.  Among  them  was  a  loud-mouthed 
and  low-mouthed  scoffer.  He  beckoned  from  the 
crowd,  saying,  '  Captain,  I  want  to  speak  to  you  ?  ' 

*  Do  you  mean  7ne  ?'  asked  Uncle  John.  *  Yes,'  was 
the  reply.  Uncle  John  told  me  to  go  on  and  open  the 
meeting,  and  promptly  crossed  the  street  where  the 
blasphemer  stood.  The  man's  first  remark  was  that  if 
Uncle  John  did  not  leave  the  place  within  twenty-four 
hours  he  would  '  give  him  a  thrashing.*  Uncle  John 
kindly  but  fearlessly  replied  that  his  engagements  would 
compel  him  to  go  the  following  day,  but  that  if  the 
arrangements  were  not  already  made  he  would  cer- 
tainly remain.  Some  of  the  best  citizens  witnessed 
the  interview  and  were  deeply  impressed,  when  Uncle 
John,  taking  the  abusive  fellow's  hand,  plead  with  him 
and  prayed  till  he  was  subdued  to  perfect  silence.  A 
number  came  over  to  our  meeting  that  night  for  the 
first  time,  declaring  that  if  they  had  any  moral  influ- 
ence they  wanted  to  cast  it  on  that  side. 

"Among  those  who  so  sought  to  express  their 
opinion  of  this  transaction  was  the  postmaster  of  the 
'  village  and  another  prominent  citizen,  both  of  whom 
were  converted  ;  and  another  who  had  previously  led 
a  reckless  life  in  relating  his  experience  said  that  Ivs 
conviction  of  sin  started  when  he  heard  Uncle  John  so 
attacked.  That  exhibition  of  depravity  convinced  him 
of  the  exceeding  *  sinfulness  of  sin.*     Satan  sometimes 


ALL  ALONG    THE  LINES.  171 

blunders  fearfully.  That  night  and  there  he  over- 
leaped himself. 

"  For  months  Sandisfield,  Colebrook,  Conn.,  Lee, 
Tyringham,  and  Monterey  felt  the  effect  of  Uncle  John's 
incessant  labors,  or  perhaps  we  should  put  it — the  power 
of  God.  He  who  called  himself  *  legs  for  Baxter  and 
Bunyan  '  was  a  voice  for  Homer  Merriam  as  well.  The 
accessions  to  the  churches  following  his  labors  were 
more  than  three  hundred,  and  the  man  will  be  lovingly 
remembered  in  many  a  household  for  years  to  come. 
Even  the  children  of  tender  age  will  long  remember 
one  who  so  much  loved  them  and  whom  they  so  much 
loved." 

Of  this  same  memorable  summer,  and  of  this  same 
vicinity,  let  a  Christian  woman  speak,  mentioning 
briefly  a  special  case  or  two. 

*'  In  one  family  in  Otis  there  were  nine  conversions, 
and  most  of  them  have  been  earnest  workers  in  the 
good  cause  ever  since.  In  another  there  were  four 
brought  to  accept  of  Christ,  and  hardly  one  household 
was  there  some  member  of  which  did  not  come  to  sing 
the  wonders  of  redeeming  grace.  Often  I  heard  Uncle 
John  say,  '  I  can  never  doubt  any  more,  so  wonderful 
have  been  the  answers  to  prayer.' 

Only  once  do  I  remember  seeing  him  introduced 
to  a  stranger  to  whom  he  did  not  say  something  about 
the  great  salvation.  This  one  was  an  elderly  lady  who 
happened  to  be  in  the  room  when  he  called  on  busi- 
ness.    He  left  the  house  and  was  perhaps  as  far  as  the 


172  UNCLE  JOHN  VASSAR, 

gate  when  the  omission  occurred  to  him,  and  back  again 

he  came  and  talked  with  her  and  prayed." 

"  Lost  for  want  of  a  word  ! 

A  word  thcit  fou  might  have  spoken—* 
Who  knows  what  eyes  may  be  dim, 
Or  hearts  be  aching  or  broken  ? 

Go,  scatter  beside  all  waters. 

Nor  sicken  at  hope  deferred ; 
Let  never  a  soul  by  thy  dumbness 

Be  lost  for  want  of  a  word !" 

"  Mr.  Vassar  absorbed  himself  for  the  time  being  with 
the  individual  he  was  talking  with,  and  by  some  happy 
gift  made  each  one  feel  that  he  was  deeply  interested  in 
his  particular  case.  And  there  was  no  pretence  in  this. 
He  took  in  rapidly  the  interesting  points  in  any  stranger's 
condition,  with  great  tact  drew  out  the  religious  state, 
and  urged  with  impressiveness  the  importance  of  being 
at  peace  with  God.  The  secret  of  this  was  that  his  whole 
heart  was  in  the  work  of  winning  souls  to  discipleship 
with  Christ,  and  the  ground  of  his  interest  in  others  was, 
therefore,  not,  as  so  much  it  is  with  most  of  us,  personal 
and  worldly  considerations,  but  eminently  Christian  and 
arising  out  of  his  habitual  prayerfulness.  It  was,  there- 
fore, easy  for  him  to  make  even  a  stranger  see  that  he 
was  cordially  interested  in  his  religious  welfare.  He 
followed  closely  the  prudential  maxims  of  Matt.  lO, 
worked  hard  all  the  year  round,  and  was  manifestly  deny- 
ing himself  much  of  what  most  men  count  essential  to 
comfort.  Loving,  faithful,  unobtrusive,  without  title  or 
ordination,  he  preached  the  gospel  like  his  divine  Master, 
wherever  he  found  a  weary  heart  and  ready  ear.     He 


ALL  ALONG  THE  LINES.  173 

was  an  evangelist  of  whom  all  pastors  spoke  well ;  for 
he  knew  his  work  and  never  aimed  to  go  beyond  it." 

Another  Christian  woman  tells  of  a  man  in  Sandis- 
field  seventy-four  years  of  age,  profane,  and  of  drink- 
ing habits,  who  declared  that  he  had  never  felt  himself 
a  sinner  till  Uncle  John  got  hold  of  his  hand  and  be- 
gan to  plead  Vvdth  him.  For  days  he  passed  through 
agony  of  mind  much  like  that  which  uncle  John  him- 
self experienced,  but  at  last  came  into  the  peace  of 
Christ  and  demonstrated  the  genuineness  of  his  hope 
afterward  by  an  upright  life. 

Of  his  labors  in  Boston  and  vicinity  Rev.  Drs.  Gor- 
don and  Fulton  will  elsewhere  tell.  Enough  to  say 
just  here  that  his  sterling  worth  and  efficient  services 
were  recognized  and  appreciated  by  cultured  Christian 
men  as  well  as  by  a  humbler  class,  and  that  to  their 
homes  and  churches  he  was  welcomed  as  a  brother  be- 
loved in  the  Lord,  and  a  laborer  esteemed  for  his 
work's  sake.  Henry  F.  Durant,  the  founder  of  Wel- 
lesley  College,  in  inviting  him  to  his  elegant  home  for 
a  week,  said  to  a  mutual  friend,  "  I  consider  myself 
more  honored  to  entertain  this  man  of  God  than  to 
have  a  king  for  my  guest." 

In  the  Charlestown  district,  where  for  two  winters 

he  aided  different  pastors,  one  of  them  already  quoted 

says,    **  The    meetings    we  held    were    foretastes   of 

heaven.     Uncle  John  was  at  his  best.     He  had  great 

physical  infirmities,   but  he  rose  above   them,    as  he 

often  said,  'by  mighty  faith   and   prayer.'     Oh,  what 

days  those  were  !      Would  God  we  might  see  their  like 
8* 


174  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR. 

again.  Hundreds  entered  into  covenant  with  Christ 
and  His  church." 

Of  a  week  spent  at  Keyport,  N.  J.,  Rev.  J.  K. 
Manning,  with  whom  he  labored,  has  this  to  say  : 

*'  We  were  in  the  midst  of  a  powerful  revival  when 
he  came,  and  his  first  words  after  learning  our  con- 
dition were,  *  I  am  not  needed  here.  My  chief  work 
is  among  churches  that  are  measurably  cold  or  dead.' 
With  difficulty  he  was  persuaded  to  remain,  and  with 
the  deacons  go  from  house  to  house.  The  service  he 
rendered  in  this  way  was  grand. 

"  For  three  characteristics  especially  he  is  remem- 
bered here. 

"  First,  his  resort  to  prayer  when  met  by  cavilling 
or  gainsaying  tongues,  and  his  readiness  to  plead  with 
men,  and  for  men,  in  any  place,  and  in  every  circum- 
stance. 

"  Second.  His  persistent  holding  of  the  penitent 
and  Inquiring  soul  to  the  promises  of  God  as  the  means 
and  source  of  comfort.  He  was  the  most  faithful  to 
the  Word  of  God  of  any  man  I  ever  knew. 

"  Third.  The  impression  made  on  all  minds  that 
doing  good  was  the  mission  of  his  life.  Many  speak 
of  him  yet  as  the  man  who  knew  nothing  excepting 
the  seeking  and  saving  of  souls." 

To  another  New  Jersey  pastor  anxious  to  secure  his 
services  for  a  few  days  he  writes  ; 

Dear  Brother  Love  : 

"  I  have  your  kind  letter,  and  rejoice  to  hear  of  the 
salvation  of  souls  at  Croton.     God  grant  the  work  may 


ALL   ALONG    THE  LlNE:^\  17^ 

be  deep  and  widespread.  I  would  come  and  help  you 
if  I  could,  but  I  have  been  four  months  with  Dr.  Tyng, 
who  has  received  more  than  seven  hundred  this  year 
into  the  membership  of  his  church,  and  am  now  en- 
gaged elsewhere  for  a  season.     My  heart  is  with  you." 

The  *  tent  work"  of  Dr.  Tyng's  referred  to  above 
he  will  tell  us  of  elsewhere.  One  who  was  with  Uncle 
John  all  through  it  says,  **  Let  me  speak  of  one  little 
prayer-meeting  in  the  street.  After  the  tent  service 
one  night  a  group  of  us  were  returning  home  together, 
our  hearts  full  of  joy  over  the  scenes  of  grace  and 
mercy  from  which  we  had  just  come,  and  on  the  corner 
of  Thirty-fourth  Street  and  Madison  Avenue  we  stop- 
ped beside  an  iron  railing  and  began  to  sing  and  pray. 
It  was  a  precious  season,  and  the  wandering  street 
sweepers  dropped  their  brooms  and  gathered  quietly 
around,  as  under  the  stars  declaring  the  glory  of  God 
in  creation  we  sang  of  His  greater  glory  in  redemption 
through  Christ  our  Lord." 

Rev.  S.  L.  Bowler,  of  Machias,  Maine,  now  secured 
Uncle  John's  services  for  some  of  the  more  destitute 
regions  of  that  State.  In  a  single  county  there  were 
a  score  of  churches  that  had  no  pastor,  most  of  them 
being  too  feeble  to  maintain  one.  The  Maine  Mission- 
ary Society  cordially  co-operated  with  the  lay  evange- 
list, and  the  results  everywhere  else  witnessed  were 
here  quickly  seen  and  felt. 

From  one  of  the  churches  thus  visited  and  blest  a 
Christian  man  sends  these  lines  : 


•  ;6  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR. 

"  His  labors  here  were  crowned  with  great  success. 
The  church  was  quickened  ;  souls  were  saved  ;  every 
house  in  the  place  I  think  was  visited,  and  he  con. 
versed  with  nearly  every  person  in  the  town.  One 
young  sea  captain  who  was  evidently  failing  with  con- 
sumption interested  Uncle  John  very  much.  He  had 
not  been  married  long,  and  neither  he  nor  his  wife  had 
the  Christian's  trust.  Oh,  how  he  did  entreat  them  ! 
and  even  when  praying  elsewhere,  especially  at  our 
family  devotions,  he  would  break  out  with  *  Oh,  God, 
bless  the  captain  and  his  wife.'  The  prayer  was  fully 
answered.  Both  were  happily  converted.  He  died  soon 
after,  and  she  has  followed  him  now  to  the  other  side. 

**  While  he  was  with  us  our  only  child  first  mani- 
fested an  interest  in  religious  things,  and  the  vGiy  walls 
of  our  house  seem  to  have  been  made  sacred  by  his 
many  prayers. 

"  I  can  never  forget  our  last  interview.  He  had 
gone  on  board  the  steamer  after  commending  us  ten- 
derly to  the  Lord  and  bidding  us  good-by,  when  I 
had  occasion  again  to  see  him  at  nearly  eleven  o'clock 
at  night.  Quietly  I  went  to  his  berth  thinking  he 
might  be  asleep,  and  found  him  repeating  over  the 
names  of  persons  in  our  place.  He  said  he  was  doing 
it  that  he  might  carry  them  individually  to  God  in 
prayer.     As  the  parting  hand  was  finally  given  he  said, 

*  I  am  an  old  man,  and  shall  probably  go  before  you, 
but  by  the  grace  of  God  I  shall  expect  to  meet  you 
again  in  heaven.'  His  prediction  has  proved  correct. 
God  grant  his  hope  m.ay  find  its  realization." 


ALL  ALONG  TLIE  LLNES.  177 

From  another  source  these  reflections  come : 
*"I  cannot  help  thinking,  that  if  Uncle  John  had  lived 
in  Galilee  about  a.  d.  30,  he  would  have  been,  either  one 
of  the  twelve,  or  else  of  the  seventy,  and  quite  as  com- 
panionable with  Jesus  as  any  of  them.  As  it  is,  I  doubt 
whether  his  apostolic  namesake  loved  his  Saviour  any 
better.' 

**One  instance  of  his  spiritual  insight  and  modesty 
I  recall.     Rev.  Jacob  Knapp  was  laboring  in  a  series  of 
revival  meetings  in  Chicago,  and  Uncle  John  was  there. 
Day  after  day  the  mighty  evangelist  preached,  and  al- 
though crowds   thronged  the  church  still  there  were  no 
manifest   fruits.     No   one   sought   the    Lord.      No  one 
asked  for  prayer.     It  had  not  been  so  before.     Had  God 
forgotten  to  be  gracious  ^     The  enemies  of  Christ  only 
mocked.     The  evangelist  in  his  trouble  went  to  see  Un- 
cle John,  and  asked  of  him  the  explanation  of  the  mys- 
tery.    'Why  is  it,*  said  Elder  Knapp,  'that  I  seem  to 
be  laboring  in  vain,  and  spending  my  strength  for  naught  V 
About  that  time  the  evangelist  had  bought  a  farm  con- 
taining sixteen  hundred  acres,  and  probably  his   mind 
was  somewhat  '  of  the  earth  earthy.'     Uncle  John  heard 
his  story  through,  and  then   said   in  his   modest  way, 
'  Dear  brother  Knapp,  it  is  not  for  the  Lord's  poor  dust 
to  attempt  to  give  you  any  light,  but  /  have  been  wonder- 
ing how  one  of  the  Lord's  diamonds  could  shine  with  six- 
teen htmdred  acres  of  earth  on  it'     The  evangelist  took 
the  gentle  wise  rebuke,  the  earth  was  shaken  from  off 
the  diamond,  and  the  light  so  shone  that  God  was  glori- 
fied in  the  conversion  of  a  multitude  of  souls." 
8* 


178  UNCLE  JOHN   VASSAR. 

The  following  account  of  one  of  the  most  extensive 
ingatherings  of  souls  in  which  for  the  last  year  or  two 
of  life  he  shared,  is  from  the  pen  of  Mr.  J.  C.  Tiffany, 
who  was  with  him  through  it,  and  in  later  labors  in 
Greene  County,  N.  Y. 

'*  About  the  first  of  February,  1877,  ^  revival  of 
God's  work  was  progressing  in  the  M.  E.  church  of 
Coxsackie,  N.  Y.  Its  pastor,  Rev.  Gideon  Draper, 
becoming  weary  under  prolonged  efforts,  requested 
the  writer  to  see  if  he  could  not  obtain  some  help  from 
abroad.  I  arrived  in  New  York  in  the  evening,  and  at- 
tended service  at  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  Dr. 
S.  H.  Tyng,  Jr.,  Rector.  There  I  heard  Uncle  John 
Vassar  pray  with  great  unction  and  power.  I  applied 
to  Dr.  Tyng  for  aid,  and  out  of  the  largeness  of  his 
heart  he  arranged  to  send  his  then  assistant.  Rev.  Mr. 
Humpstone,  for  a  few  days,  and  Uncle  John  for  a 
longer  time.  They  went  up  to  Coxsackie  at  once. 
The  pastor  and  official  board  were  at  a  store  waiting  to 
meet  us.  They  began  to  lay  plans  of  work.  Uncle 
John  took  off  his  hat  and  said,  '  Let  us  pray  about  it.* 
This  was  something  new  to  us,  and  the  customers  in 
the  store  had  whereof  to  talk. 

**  Before  night  came  he  had  struck  in  among  the 
people  in  his  usual  way,  and  many  were  saying  that  we 
had  got  a  crazy  man  to  help  us.  He  called  right  up  to 
meeting  time,  stopping  only  to  get  a  hasty  meal.  The 
effect  was  seen  the  first  evening  in  an  increased  at- 
tendance. Seeing  the  backwardness  of  many  Chris- 
tians, a  consecration  meeting  among  them  was  pro- 


ALL   ALONG    THE  LLNES.  179 

yosed.  It  was  a  season  never  to  be  forgotten.  Cold- 
ness melted  away,  denominational  lines  were  broken 
down,  and  the  people  of  God  were  ready  for  their  work. 
A  daily  noon  prayer-meeting  was  started.  Christians 
of  all  names  came  into  it.  Many  young  men  came  in 
and  turned  to  God.  Strong  men  bowed  themselves  at 
Jesus'  feet,  and  many  hardened  sinners  found  a 
Saviour.  It  was  no  unusual  thing  to  have  from  eight 
to  fifteen  conversions  in  a  single  day.  Some  answers 
to  prayer  were  wonderful. 

"  After  four  weeks  thus  spent  at  the  Land- 
ing we  went  to  the  upper  village,  and  the  First 
Reformed  Church  opened  its  doors  for  the  service. 
The  work  of  salvation  started  the  first  day.  Old 
difficulties  were  reconciled,  and  estranged  neighbors 
or  brethren  made  one.  Old  grudges  and  animosities, 
which  had  gone  so  far  as  to  prevent  those  sharing 
them  from  speaking  to  each  other,  were  swept  away. 
At  one  of  the  noon  prayer-meetings  a  divine  power  fell 
on  the  people  such  as  Uncle  John  himself  confessed 
that  he  had  never  seen  displayed. 

"The  room  in  which  the  meeting  was  held  was  offered 
by  a  man  who  held  a  license  to  sell  liquor,  and  who  kept 
a  grocery.  The  offer  was  accepted,  and  the  young  men 
soon  had  it  ready  for  occupation.  The  meeting  was 
crowded.  A  few  remarks  were  made  in  regard  to  Jesus 
at  the  grave  of  Lazarus,  when  he  said,  '  Jesus  wept.'  A 
power  came  which  made  every  head  of  Christian  and 
sinner  bow  on  the  seat  before  it.  For  a  few  moments  an 
awful  stillness  followed  which  was  broken  by  the  cries  for 


i8o  UNCLE  JOHN  VASSAR. 

mercy  from  the  son  of  the  man  who  had  given  the  room ; 
then  one  of  his  companions,  then  others.  The  room 
could  not  accommodate  to  bow  in  prayer,  so  the  ladies 
were  left  in  that,  and  the  men  sought  places  in  neighbor- 
ing houses.  It  was  a  scene  for  Coxsackie.  Fathers  went 
through  the  streets  with  children,  sons  almost  of  age  cry- 
ing and  weeping,  and  others  praying  for  mercy.  Each 
day  he  selected  some  brother  to  visit  with  him  from 
house  to  house.  Many  were  the  souls  thus  savingly 
reached. 

"  On  one  of  his  visits  he  came  with  his  companions  to 
a  house  where  there  was  a  family  party  of  seven  adults, 
non-professors.  He  soon  had  the  strong  men  and  women 
bowed  in  prayer  ;  all  promised  to  seek  salvation.  They 
were  all  rejoicing  in  a  very  few  days,  and  as  the  result, 
two  of  the  number  are  now  deacons  in  the  church,  and 
all  happy  in  the  Lord.  Members  of  different  churches 
came  forward  to  help,  and,  young  and  old,  all  pressed 
forward  longing  for  a  fresh  baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Uncle  John  knew  no  differences.  He  was  working  for 
souls  for  the  Master,  and  all  recognized  his  zeal. 

**  The  apparent  result  of  the  work  was  that  over 
three  hundred  were  added  to  the  churches  there,  while 
some  joined  elsewhere.  More  than  one  hundred  of  this 
number  were  young  business  men  between  eighteen 
and  thirty  years  of  age,  the  most  of  whom  are  active 
working  Christians  still.  Schoolhouse  meetings  were 
started  in  the  country  round  about,  virhich  are  yet 
kept    up,    and    in    which    conversions    are    from    time 


ALL  ALONG  THE  LLNES,  i8i 

to    time    occurring    now,    resulting    from    seed    then 
sown. 

"Many  who  were  then  converted  have  already 
entered  into  rest.  They  have  again  met  the  dear  old 
man,  but  this  time  at  the  feet  of  the  Master,  where  they 
will  part  no  more.  We  who  remain  are  going  on  to  join 
the  heavenly  throng  saved  by  grace  divine." 

These  attacks  "  all  along  the  line  "  were  coming  to 
an  end.  There  is  but  one  more  that  we  shall  mention 
or  give  the  details  of  in  this  chapter.  It  was  at  Green- 
ville, Greene  County,  N.  Y.,  where  it  was  made,  and  Rev. 
VV.  P.  Gibson  reports  it. 

"  My  first  impression  on  seeing  Uncle  John  at  my 
gate  was  that  he  was  some  old  wide-awake  farmer 
turned  book-agent,  who  had  come  to  the  parsonage 
having  a  special  axe  to  grind  ;  but  as  he  had  been  at 
my  house  once  when  I  v/as  absent,  my  family  recog- 
nized him,  and  he  was  soon  perfectly  at  home. 
Seven  weeks  we  spent  together  travelling  those  hills, 
talking,  preaching,  praying  ;  and  it  was  nearly  his  last 
work  here  below. 

"  On  one  occasion  he  Vv^as  seen  praying  with  a  group 
of  men  along  the  road,  and  was  published  as  an  es- 
caped lunatic  in  our  village  paper.  Sometimes  his  kind 
approaches  were  repulsed,  but  never,  so  far  as  I  am 
aware,  by  a  non-professor  of  religion.  In  one  or  two  in- 
stances nominal  Christians  declined  having  any  conver- 
sation with  him,  or  any  prayer  offered  in  their  homes, 
asserting  that  they  belonged  to  the  church  and  had  no 
need  of  such  service. 


i82  UNCLE  JOHN  VASSAR. 

"When  introduced  to  any  one  he  lost  no  time  in 
pressing  home  that  all  important  question,  'My  dear 
son  !'  or  *  My  dear  daughter,  have  you  been  born  again  ?' 
and  if  there  was  any  hesitancy,  his  well-worn  testament 
was  opened  spontaneously  to  the  words  *Ye  must  be 
born  again.'  And  then  he  would  graphically  describe  the 
interview  between  Christ  and  Nicodemus,  or  picture  the 
scene  among  the  bitter  Israelites  when  Moses  lifted  up 
the  serpent  (typical  of  Christ)  for  the  gaze  of  the  dying. 
And  every  brief  interview  closed  with  prayer,  by  him- 
self or  the  '  dear  pastor '  and  sometimes  all  the  praying 
members  of  the  household  were  pressed  to  join,  or  a 
trembling  soul  seeking  light  was  encouraged  to  put  up  a 
short  broken  petition.  On  one  occasion,  a  back-slidden 
sister  was  tearfully  seeking  for  peace  and  pardon  but 
could  see  no  light.  He  saw  at  once  that  it  was  unbelief, 
and  said,  '  My  dear,  you  must  believe  when  you  pray ;' 
and  bid  her  say  over  and  over,  '  I  do  believe,  I  will  be- 
lieve ;  help  thou  my  unbelief.'  It  was  not  long  before 
peace  came.  Sometimes  the  interview  occurred  on  the 
street ;  after  a  few  faithful  words,  off  went  his  hat  with- 
out warning  and  a  short  petition  went  up  to  God  for  a 
blessing  on  the  message. 

"  After  visiting  all  day,  he  would  give  a  detailed  ac- 
count of  his  visits,  calling  the  name  of  every  member  of 
the  families  met,  and  their  spiritual  condition.  He 
would  then  kneel  and  pour  out  his  heart  for  them,  one 
by  one,  naming  each  particular  case  in  his  petition.  He 
was  quick  to  detect  the  secret  of  a  cold  and  half-hearted 
profession. 


ALL   ALONG    THE  LINES.  183 

"  His  modesty  forbade  his  leading  the  meetings 
unless  specially  requested,  but  his  stirring  exhortations 
and  moving  petitions  told  upon  the  audience  power- 
fully at  times.  I  remember  a  few  impassioned  appeals 
that  were  truly  eloquent  with  lofty  and  well-expressed 
thought.  His  singing  too  was  a  great  help.  Though 
his  voice  was  somewhat  weakened  and  roughened  by 
age,  he  sang  with  the  spirit,  and  his  selections  inva- 
riably fitted  the  places  where  they  came  in.  On  one 
occasion  we  were  singing  at  family  worship, 

'  Oh,  why  was  He  there  as  the  bearer  of  sin 
If  on  Jesus  my  sin  was  not  laid  ? ' 

As  the  thought  took  possession  of  him  he  ex- 
claimed, 'Sure  enough,'  and  repeating  the  lines  he 
laughed  and  wept  for  very  joy. 

"  Dear  Uncle  John  !  his  stay  with  us  was  like  an 
angel's  visit,  and  we  cherish  his  words  and  looks  in 
memory,  as  of  one  very  intimate  with  Jesus,  and  dwell- 
ing even  here  *  quite  on  the  verge  of  heaven.'  " 

During  these  meetings  one  who  roomed  with  him 
many  nights  says:  "At  this  time  he  was  suffering 
severely  from  the  disease  which  caused  his  death,  and 
the  pain  at  intervals  was  fearful.  During  one  of  these 
intervals,  when  he  supposed  me  sleeping,  after  being 
up  for  a  while  he  came  back  to  bed  and  laid  down  as 
carefully  as  a  mother  would  by  her  sick  child  for  fear 
of  disturbing  me,  and  then  in  an  underbreath  I  heard 
him  say,  '  Dear  Lor d^  how  much  better  this  than  sin  .^'  " 

Another,  writing  of  a  date  perhaps  earlier,  says  . 
"  A  little  incident   occurred   which    pleased    me  very 


i84  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR. 

much  the  night  he  stopped  with  us.  When  I  went  to 
show  him  to  his  room  I  said  on  entering  it,  *  We  call 
this  the  prophet's  chamber.  Many  ministers  have  oc- 
cupied it,  but  it  is  doubly  hallowed  to  us  since  in  it  our 
dear  old  pastor  laid  off  his  robe  of  flesh  and  went  to 
God.'  Uncle  John's  face  fairly  beamed  with  delight 
as  he  exclaimed,  '  Oh,  I  am  so  glad  to  know  that  there 
is  a  passage  direct  from  here  to  heaven  !'  " 

He  was  ripening  now  rapidly.     He  was  soon  to  see 
the  King  in  his  beauty. 


CHArXER   IX. 

WEAPONS    IN    THE    FIGHT. 

"  His  was  the  saint's  high  faith, 
And  quenchless  Hope's  pure  glow. 
And  perfect  Charity,  which  2aid 
The  world's  fell  tyrant  low. 
In  him  the  Father  shone  ; 
In  him  the  Son  o'ercame  ; 
In  him  the  Holy  Spirit  wrought, 
And  filled  his  heart  with  flame." 

It  is  exceedingly  difficult  to  analyze  what  men  call 
personal  power.  It  is  easily  recognized  and  readily 
confessed,  but  its  elements  are  not  easily  discovered  or 
described.  John  Vassar  struck  blows  that  fell  heavy 
and  cut  deep.  What  were  the  weapons  used  ?  Drop- 
ping the  figure,  what  made  him  the  man  he  was  ? 

Certain  constitutional  peculiarities  probably  helped  : 
natural  ardor,  vivacity,  persistency,  sympathy,  had 
something  to  do  with  the  work.  We  will  not  leave 
them  altogether  out  of  the  account.  But  the  real 
springs  of  character  v/ere  not  in  these.  The  palm  of 
the  desert,  fruitful  and  beautiful,  does  not  find  its 
supplies  in  itself.  Nor  does  it  find  them  in  the  burn- 
ing, blistering  sand  out  of  which  it  grovvs.  The  sources 
of  its  life  lie  deeper  down.  Far  underneath  are  veins 
of  water  at  which  its  rootlets  drink  and  from  which 
they  draw  up  nourishment  which  keeps  the  uppermost 


i86  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR. 

and  outmost  leaves  fresh  and  fair  when  sultry  suns  are 
smiting.  A  consecrated  life  depends  on  unseen  and 
eternal  sources  for  what  it  is  and  what  it  gives.  Some 
of  Uncle  John's  characteristics  have  of  necessity  been 
brought  in  sight,  and  the  secret  sources  of  their  strength 
have  been  glimpsed  as  we  have  gone  along.  They  need, 
however,  to  be  set  in  a  stronger  light,  and  all  eyes 
turned  on  them  ;  for  the  practical  effect  of  this  book 
will  be  short-lived  and  superficial  unless  Christian  men 
can  be  made  to  see  what  are,  and  must  ever  be,  the 
elements  as  well  as  the  sources  of  personal  spiritual 
power. 

Though  it  may  involve  more  or  less  repetition,  then 
let  the  strong  points  of  the  man  be  stated  and  empha- 
sized, and  further  illustrated. 

UnflincJiing  loyalty  to  the  Lord  Jesiis  Christy  based 
on  an  adoring  love,  was  the  mainspring  to  all  he  was 
and  all  lie  did. 

Somebody  has  said  of  Arnold  of  Rugby  that  "  the 
central  fact  of  his  experience  was  his  close,  conscious, 
and  ever-realized  union  and  friendship  with  the  Lord 
Jesus  ;  and  that  in  the  ever-flowing  fulness  of  his  heart 
every  expression  of  affection  that  might  pass  between 
earthly  friends  passed  between  him  and  the  Divine 
Man  whom  as  a  friend  he  had  in  heaven,  and  to  whom 
with  an  exhaustless  enjoyment  he  clung."  A  picture 
in  words  this  of  Uncle  John.  An  irreverent  mention 
of  the  Saviour's  name  would  cause  him  keen  distress. 
While  we  were  residing  in  Lynn,  Mass.,  he  made  us 
several  flying  visits,  on  one  of  which  a  Unitarian  gentle- 


WEAPONS  IN   THE  EIGHT,  1S7 

man  of  the  city  said  to  him,  in  a  flash  of  irritation, 
"  Sir,  to  pay  divine  honor  to  this  Jesus  of  Nazareth  of 
whom  you  talk  so  much  is  in  my  opinion  insulting  to 
the  Almighty."  It  was  hours  before  Uncle  John  got 
over  that.  It  pained  him  more  than  if  child  or  brother 
had  received  a  cruel  thrust. 

And  he  was  just  as  sensitive  if  there  was  no  recog- 
nition of  that  Name  where  he  thought  it  ought  to  have 

a  place.   One  day  he  came  out  of  W Street  church, 

where  a  noted  minister  had  preached,  and  with  a 
grieved,  disappointed  look  and   a  quivering  voice   he 

said,  "Oh,  T ,  he  never  mentioned  the  name   of 

Jesus  once." 

And  in  all  this  there  was  not  a  particle  of  pretence 
or  cant.  This  love  of  Christ  was  not  a  fancy  or  a  senti- 
ment. It  was  a  principle,  a  passion,  an  abiding  mo- 
tive. It  was  the  antidote  against  worldliness.  It  was 
the  incentive  to  action  which  this  world  could  not  un- 
derstand, and  for  which  it  sometimes  had  nothing  more 
than  scorn.  Heavy  loads  and  hard  toils  grew  light 
when  with  this  affection  the  heart  glowed.  Poverty, 
reproach,  death  even — what  were  they  but  the  passing 
flurries  of  an  April  day  ?  Who  that  was  intimate  but 
has  heard  him  say  : 

"  One  smile,  one  blissful  smile  of  Thine, 
My  dearest  Lord,  outweighs  them  all." 

When  they  were  probing  among  his  shattered  ribs 
for  the  fatal  bullet,  the  French  veteran  exclaimed,  "  A 
little  deeper,  and  you  will  find  the  emperor."  In 
Uncle  John's  heart  the  deepest   emotion  was  love  for 


i88  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR, 

his  Saviour.  Deeper  than  the  love  of  home,  deeper 
than  the  love  of  kindred,  deeper  than  the  love  of  coun- 
try, aye  deeper  than  the  love  of  life,  was  his  affection 
for  that  Redeemer  who  had  first  loved  him  and  given 
Himself  for  him.  He  did  not  talk  so  much  of  heaven 
as  many  Christians  do.  He  talked  of  being  with  the 
Lord  and  like  Him.  That  was  his  ideal  of  the  coming 
blessedness. 

Out  of  this  attachment  grew  what  was  probably  the 
next  most  prominent  feature  of  his  life,  and  one  of  the 
mightiest  forces  in  his  work — his  habitual  and  almost 
unbroken  intercourse  with  God  in  prayer. 

A  man  who  came  so  near  a  literal  compliance  with 
the  apostolic  charge,  **  Pray  without  ceasing,"  few 
Christicins  in  these  latter  days  have  known.  One  long 
his  pastor,  and  longer  still  his  friend,  bears  testimony 
on  this  point  that  a  stranger  might  think  too  strong, 
but  every  word  of  which  hundreds  would  indorse. 

"  He  absolutely  prayed  day  and  night.  Prayed 
about  every  thing.  Prayed  over  every  thing.  Prayed 
for  almost  everybody,  and  prayed  with  almost  every- 
body whom  he  met.  He  prayed  when  he  went  out, 
and  when  he  came  in.  He  prayed  before  every  re- 
ligious service,  and  then  prayed  all  the  way  through  it. 
I  have  roomed  with  him  night  after  night,  and  rarely 
went  to  sleep  without  hearing  him  at  prayer,  or  awoke 
without  finding  him  at  prayer.  He  seldom,  if  ever, 
came  into  my  house  or  study  that  he  did  not  propose 
a  season  of  prayer,  no  matter  how  brief  might  be  the 
call,  or  what  the  errand  that  brought  him  there." 


IV£AP0A'S  IN   THE  FIGHT.  lis^ 

His  gift  in  prayer  was  very  remarkable — more  re- 
markable, we  think,  than  his  giftof  speech,  though  that 
was  sometimes  wonderful,  and  always  of  a  more  than 
ordinary  kind.  Several  special  supplications  of  his 
have  already  been  referred  to,  and  prayers  very  like 
them  others  will  recall. 

William  N.  Sage,  Esq.,  of  Rochester,  N.  Y., 
speaks  of  one  such  which  he  offered  in  that  city  a 
dozen  years  ago.  The  First  Baptist  Church  had  just 
finished  a  "  memorial  chapel"  on  Lake  Avenue,  and 
before  its  formal  dedication  Uncle  John  and  the  late 
Deacon  Oren  Sage — a  kindred  spirit — went  into  it  alone, 
and  there  on  bended  knees  wrestled  with  God  that 
His  awakening  and  converting  Spirit  might  so  fill  those 
courts  that  of  many  of  the  finally  redeemed  it  might 
be  said,  "  This  man  and  that  were  born  there."  He 
further  adds  that  most  signally  and  graciously  God  an- 
swered that  request,  and  by  displays  of  His  salvation 
made  the  place  of  His  feet  glorious. 

In  a  prayer-meeting  he  was  a  host.  If  a  spirit  of 
dulness  or  heaviness  pervaded  it,  somehow  it  seemed, 
as  he  began  to  wrestle,  to  be  lifted  off.  One  of  the 
members  of  his  own  church  who  has  already  been 
quoted  tells  what  animation  his  simple  presence  gave 
to  the  little  company  that  met  there  in  the  usual  de- 
votional meetings  of  the  week. 

"  He  was  often  sent  home  to  rest  by  the  Tract  So- 
ciety, but  before  he  would  go  home  even  he  would  stop 
into  the  prayer-meeting  of  his  church  if  it  happened 
to  be  going  on.      If  we  did  not  see  him  enter  we  would 
9 


I9Q  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR. 

quickly  know  that  he  was  there.  Oh,  how  he  w^ould 
wrestle  for  the  dear  old  church  in  which  he  was  born 
again  !  Then  how  he  would  recount  recent  wonders  of 
redeeming  grace,  keeping  himself  all  the  time  in  the 
background  and  giving  God  the  glory.  No  matter 
how  truthfully  we  might  have  been  singing 

"  Hosannas  languish  on  our  tongues, 
And  our  devotion  dies," 

it  seemed  as  we  listened  to  him  as  good  to  be  there  as 
it  was  to  the  apostles  to  be  on  the  mount  of  transfigu- 
ration, and  the  Lord  granted  us  such  revelations  of 
Himself  as  m.ade  our  place  of  prayer  something  like 
that  hilltop  for  radiance." 

Few  phrases  are  more  common  among  Christian 
men  than  this,  "the  privilege  of  prayer;"  but  it  is 
greatly  to  be  feared  that  many  who  use  it  would  more 
correctly  represent  their  own  personal  feeling  if  they 
were  to  's>diy  ''  \}i\Q  drudgery  oi  prayer."  At  least  an 
honest  conscience  would  compel  them  to  say  that  it 
was  a  dull  duty  ;  uninviting  often,  and  sometimes  posi- 
tively irksome,  and  engaged  in  as  much  to  keep  a 
sense  of  obligation  quiet  as  for  any  thing  else.  Now  to 
John  Vassar  prayer  was  a  privilege,  a  blessed  privilege, 
and  a  real  deep  delight.  It  was  a  lament  of  the 
prophet  over  the  degeneracy  of  God's  people,  "  None 
stirreth  Jiiinself  up  to  take  hold  of  Thee."  That  is,  de- 
votion was  a  droning,  drawling  thing.  There  was  no 
holy  energy  about  the  exercise.  This  was  not  true  of 
Uncle  John.  He  seemed  to  know  the  meaning  of 
those  mysterious  expressions,  "  Praying  in  the  Holy 


WEAPONS  IN   THE  FIGHT,  191 

Ghost."  **  With  all  prayer  in  the  Spirit;"  and  so  his 
supplications  were  intense.  There  was  a  specific  ob- 
ject to  attain.  Coming  to  the  throne  of  grace  was 
not  a  romance  or  a  pious  farce.  Me  could  not  ap- 
proach it  "with  easiness  of  desire."  He  could  not 
tamely  beg.  There  were  "  deep-swelling  sensibili- 
ties," as  Dr.  Phelps  calls  them,  to  be  relieved.  It  was 
deep  calling  unto  deep. 

Whether  the  repeated  instances  given  us  of  his 
praying  along  the  roads,  and  in  stores  and  shops,  are 
to  be  commended  and  held  up  for  our  example,  is  a 
question  concerning  which  good  men  may  disagree. 
Circumstances  would  have  to  decide  the  case.  In 
many  instances  it  might  be  a  perfectly  proper  thing  to 
do  ;  at  least  a  perfectly  proper  thing  for  him.  We 
should  not  feel  warranted  to  urge  such  a  course  on  all. 
A  brother  pastor  near  us  voices  about  our  ov/n  opinion 
in  the  case  :  *'  It  seemiS  to  me  that  it  would  be  a  fatal 
mistake  for  many  to  venture  on  the  ground  which 
Uncle  John  trod  v/ith  so  much  success.  Very  few 
could  say  or  do  what  he  did  without  making  *  a  mess  ' 
of  it.  There  must  be  the  mail,  the  character  ;  so  much 
depends  on  that.  The  tone,  the  manner,  the  evident 
sincerity,  may  command  respect  in  one  case  where  it 
would  be  very  offensive  in  another.  What  is  heroic 
boldness  in  one  man  might  be  insolent  rudeness  in 
another,  and  do  vastly  more  harm  than  good." 

Obviously  enough,  the  besetting  sin  of  good  men 
to-day  is  not  to  "  violate  the  proprieties"  in  their 
efforts  to  save  souls  ;  so  v»4iile  not  insisting  that  Uncle 


192  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR, 

John's  example  is  a  model  in  every  particular  for  all 
who  would  win  the  wandering  to  Christ,  the  question 
may  well  be  asked,  and  seriously  pondered,  whether  we 
are  not  in  danger,  by  our  over-nice  notions  concerning 
means  and  methods,  of  letting  men  perish  whom  we 
have  been  commanded  to  pull  out  of  the  fire. 

Interwoven  with  these  other  qualities  there  was  in 
Uncle  John  a  mighty  faith. 

No  place  and  no  case  seemed  too  hard  or  too  hope- 
less for  him  to  grapple  with.  Forbidding  circum- 
stances and  a  gloomy  outlook  never  shook  his  trust  nor 
tied  his  tongue.  Indeed,  he  saw  no  gloomy  outlook, 
for  he  did  not  look  out  so  much  as  tip.  If  asked  what 
the  prospect  was  in  any  direction,  he  would  have  said, 
with  Adoniram  Judson,  "  As  bright  as  the  promises  of 
God."  He  did  not  believe  simply  in  the  God  of  ages 
ago.  He  believed  in  the  God  of  to-day.  He  could 
not  be  persuaded  that  the  wonder-working  Spirit  fin- 
ished His  operations  at  Pentecost.  He  could  not  be 
convinced  that  the  supernatural  was  no  longer  to  be 
looked  for.  He  could  see  no  reason  why  the  modern 
Saul  of  Tarsus  should  not  be  as  sharply  called  and  as 
suddenly  turned  as  the  ancient  persecuting  zealot  was. 
When  going  on  what  others  regarded  as  "a  forlorn 
hope,"  he  would  go  into  the  closet  and  beg  for  a 
special  anointing,  an  enduement  of  power  from  on 
high,  and  then  with  a  deepened  confidence  start  out. 
"  One  day  he  went  to  call  on  a  lady  whose  husband 
was  a  skeptic  and  a  bitter  opposer  of  religion.  The 
man  saw  him  entering  the  gate,  and  stepping  to  the 


WEAPONS  IN   THE  EIGHT.  193 

ooor,  said,  *  You  are  coming  here  to  pray  with  my 
uite,  I  presume.  Now  let  me  tell  you  I  don't  allow 
any  prayer  in  this  house.  Leave  at  once,  and  never 
show  your  face  here  again.'  Uncle  John  hesitated  a 
moment,  then  left,  and  going  to  his  stopping-place 
plead  long  and  earnestly  for  help  to  reach  that  case. 
Rising  from  his  knees,  and  *  nothing  doubting,'  he 
went  strLight  back  to  the  house  from  which  he  had  been 
less  than  an  hour  before  repulsed.  The  man  again  met 
him,  and  after  a  moment's  parleying  told  him  that  if 
he  would  not  pray  he  might  come  in.  Uncle  John 
refused  to  make  any  such  promise,  but  nevertheless 
got  in.  An  urgent  message  from  God  was  soon  ring- 
ing in  the  unbeliever's  ears,  and  before  the  interview 
ended,  humbled  and  subdued  he  was  bowing  by  the 
side  of  Uncle  John  listening  to  supplications  for  his 
own  salvation." 

Again  and  again,  when  assured  that  a  contemplated 
effort  would  be  fruitless,  that  it  would  be  the  sinking 
of  a  bucket  in  a  dry  well,  and  the  bringing  of  nothing 
up,  he  would  beg  the  privilege  of  trying.  He  would 
get  a  church  or  a  school-house  open,  and  then  explore 
the  region  to  invite  the  people  out.  Almost  invariably 
a  revival  would  commence.  Often  God  would  triumph 
gloriously.  Converts  would  be  multiplied.  Dull 
churches  or  dull  Christians  would  get  aglow.  There 
would  be  apostolic  work  because  it  was  underlaid  and 
pushed  with  apostolic  faith. 

It  would  be  foolish,  and  even  false,  to  say  that  re- 
ligiously there  are  no   hard   fields  and  no  hard  souls. 


194  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR, 

There  are  both.  When  Christ  appointed  the  Seventy, 
the  record  is  that  He  sent  them  "  into  every  city  and 
place  whither  He  himself  would  come.''  It  sometimes 
looks  now  as  if  there  were  places  where  He  did  not 
come.  They  seem  as  dry,  spiritually,  as  those  moun- 
tains of  Gilboa  would  have  been,  literally,  had  David's 
desire  been  granted  and  neither  rain  nor  dew  had 
dropped  upon  their  slopes.  There  are  hearts  that  do 
appear  almost  unimpressible.  Warnings  and  appeals,  no 
matter  how  faithful  or  how  pungent,  seem  to  glide  off 
like  hail  from  a  slated  roof,  and  leave  traces  as  faint 
and  few  behind. 

In  such  circumstances  one  needs  the  faith  Elijah 
had  when,  with  the  brazen  skies  hanging  over  Carmel, 
he  bade  Ahab  hurry  homeward  before  the  rain  should 
overtake.  Uncle  John  had  it  in  an  eminent  degree. 
He  never  forgot  what  grace  had  done  for  him.  He 
believed  it  could  do  as  much  for  any  other  m.an. 

His  acquaintance  with  the  Bible  was  ve7'y  intimate 
and  thorough,  every  promise  and  penalty  and  precept 
and  prophecy  being  apparently  at  his  command. 

To  him  Scripture  was  the  one  standard  of  Christian 
truth.  To  its  teachings  nothing  was  to  be  added  ; 
from  its  decisions  there  could  be  no  appeal.  In  deal- 
ing with  errorists,  the  only  question  he  would  allow 
himself  to  look  at  was.  What  has  God  said  ?  The  mo- 
ment any  thing  like  quibbling  or  cavilling  was  heard, 
out  would  come  his  well-worn  Testament,  and  text 
after  text  would  be  turned  to  till  captious  lips  were 
closed.     The  inspired  Word  was  the  book  he  studied 


WEAPONS  IN   THE  FIGHT,  195 

most.  It  was  to  him  exactly  what  it  claims  to  be — 
**  the  sword  of  the  Spirit  ;"  and  what  was  the  hilt,  and 
what  the  blade,  and  how  to  get  hold  of  the  one  and 
smite  with  the  other,  was  what  he  sought  to  know. 
The  authenticity  of  Scripture  he  never  stopped  to 
argue.  He  boldly  assumed  that,  and  then  by  its  utter- 
ances every  opinion  must  be  hewed  and  squared. 

We  shall  make  a  great  mistake,  however,  if  v/e  get 
the  impression  that  he  studied  the  Bible  chiefly  as  a 
controversialist.  It  was  not  so  much  an  armory 
whence  to  draw  weapons  as  a  well  whence  to  drav/ 
waters  for  a  thirsty  soul.  The  daily  draught  was  a 
refreshing  and  delight.  Out  of  the  divine  testimonies 
he  drew  help  and  comfort  in  every  case.  If  he  found 
himself  after  a  day  of  hard  labor  with  half  an  hour  of 
spare  time  before  an  evening  meal  or  meeting,  he  would 
seize  the  inspired  volume  as  eagerly  as  he  would  a  let- 
ter from  home,  and  some  sweet  promise,  read  perhaps 
for  the  thousandth  time,  would  bring  a  smile  to  his 
face,  and  put  audible  praise  upon  his  tongue. 

Nor  was  it  only  the  doctrinal  and  devotional  por- 
tions of  Scripture  that  he  pored  over  and  enjoyed. 
The  prophecies  were  a  mine  of  wealth  that  he  dug  into 
as  a  treasure-seeker  might  dig  into  beds  of  precious 
ore.  Along  their  dimmest  passages,  and  in  their  ob- 
scurest recesses,  he  traced  the  footprints  of  his  Lord. 
Christ  coming  or  Christ  to  come  again,  and  the  fortunes 
of  His  cause  between  the  first  and  second  advents,  he 
saw  promised  and  presaged  at  every  step.  And  it  is 
but  just  to  say  that  while  all  might  not  accept  his  inter^ 


196  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR, 

pretations  of  prophecy,  or  the  views  to  which  they  led, 
none  could  doubt  that  his  knowledge  of  their  letter  was 
extensive  and  exact. 

This  exhaustive  acquaintance  with  God's  word 
could  not  fail  to  make  itself  felt.  Men  saw  that  he 
was  not  dogmatically  insisting  on  his  own  notions  or 
impressions  or  conceits.  They  were  asked  not  to  lis- 
ten to  him  or  to  believe  him,  but  the  message  which 
God  had  sent.  The  very  reverence  with  which  he 
treated  the  message  showed  that  he  regarded  it  as  God- 
sent.  And  when  he  came  with  comfort,  though  the 
manner  might  be  human,  the  matter  was  divine.  It 
was  not  the  weak,  uncertain  words  of  earth  he  spoke  ; 
it  was  the  strong,  infallible  words  of  heaven.  Such 
utterances  must  carry  weight.  What  man  may  think 
or  feel  is  perhaps  of  little  consequence  ;  what  God 
says  is  of  vital  importance  to  a  thoughtful  soul. 

Perhaps  the  quality  that  would  be  noticed  soonest 
and  most  deeply  felt  was  the  man's  burning  zeal.  It 
glowed  in  the  awful  earnestness  with  which  he  pressed 
his  personal  appeals.  We  use  the  word  "awful"  ad. 
visedly  and  deliberately,  for  no  other  would  be  as 
exact. 

A  writer  in  the  Watchjiariy  of  Boston,  refers  to  it 
in  this  story — a  story  so  characteristic  that  any  one  who 
knew  Uncle  John  would  have  inferred  that  he  was  the 
man  referred  to  had  no  name  been  given. 

"While  laboring  with  me  a  few  years  since  in  Bos- 
ton, he  wished  to  call  on  a  Christian  gentleman  who 
was  living  at  one  of   our  fashionable  boarding-houses. 


WEAPONS  IN   THE  FIGHT.  197 

A  young  friend  of  mine  who  went  with  him   to  show 
him  the  place  reported  what  occurred.     While  waiting 
i^i  the  parlor  to  be  shown  to  the  gentleman  s  room,  he 
opened    conversation  with    a    very    fashionable    and 
proud-looking  lady  who  was  sitting  in  the  room.      With 
great  concern  he  began   to   urge  the  necessity  of  the 
new  birth  and  immediate  acceptance   of  Christ   upon 
her.     She  was  thunderstruck,  and  protested  that  she 
did  not  believe  in  any  of  those  things.     Then  followed 
a  most    fervent  appeal,  texts    of  Scripture,   warnings 
against  rejecting  Christ,  the   certainty  of  a  wrath   to 
come   for  any  found   in   impenitence,    till   at    last  my 
friend  said  he  was  fairly  alarmed  at  the  boldness   of 
the  assault.       Suddenly  the  gentleman    came   in   for 
whom  he  was  waiting  and  called  him  out.     The  friend 
sat  watching  from  behind  his  newspaper  for  the  effect 
of  the  interview.     In  a  moment  the  lady's   husband 
came  in.    *  There  has  been  an  old  man  here  talking  with 
me  about  religion,'  she  said.      '  Why  did  you  not  shut 
him  up  ? '  he  asked  gruffly.      '  He  is  one  of  those  per- 
sons you  carit  shut  up, '  was  her  reply.      *  If  I  had  been 
here,'  he  said,  *  I  would  have  told  him  very  quickly  to 
go  about  his  business.'      'If  you   had   seen  him  you 
would  have  ihoitgJit  he  was  about  his  business, '  was  her 
answer.     No  truer  tribute  could  be  paid  to  him  than 
that.     Never  did  I  see  one  who  could   *  close  in  with 
a  soul,*  as  the  old  Puritans  used  to  phrase  it,  like  him." 
See  the  same  trait  shine  out  in  such  an  incident  as 
Rev.  S.  B.  Almy,  of  Mattewan,  one  of  Uncle  John's 
dear  friends  in  the  younger  ministry,  relates. 
9* 


19S  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR. 

*'  In  the  vv  inter  of  1872,  while  at  home  on  a  brief  visit 
from  Florida,  he  spent  a  few  days  with  the  pastor  of  a 
Presbyterian  Church  in  his  native  county.  Some  be- 
gan to  be  concerned  about  their  salvation,  and  special 
meetings  were  appointed  at  the  church.  One  day  the 
minister  v/as  taken  ill.  There  was  an  appointment  out 
for  preaching  that  very  night.  Nine  miles  Uncle  John 
walked  through  snow  and  slush  to  get  some  one  to  fill 
the  gap,  and  then  kept  on  with  his  calls  from  house  to 
house  to  get  the  people  out  to  hear  the  Word. 

*'  This  is  the  way  he  spent  the  vacation  given  him  to 
rest  in  !  Well  might  his  pastor  say  on  the  day  of  his 
burial,  '  More  truthfully  than  any  other  man  I  ever 
knew  he  might  have  said,  *'  the  zeal  of  Thine  house 
hath  eaten  me  up.  "  *  " 

"  In  Uncle  John  a  mind  of  natural  strength  and  fer- 
vency had  received  a  powerful  impulse  from  on  high. 
To  him,  religious  things  were  not  invisible  and  dis- 
tant, they  were  seen  and  present.  His  awakened  soul 
accepted  Bible  truths  as  living  and  wonderful  reali- 
ties. Christ's  cross  and  judgment-seat  seemed  very  near, 
radiant  with  tender  attractions  and  with  awful  glories. 
The  curtain  concealing  futurity  had  fallen  ;  and  from 
beholding  the  endless  destinies  of  the  righteous  and 
the  wicked,  he  turned  to  his  fellow-men,  and  earnestly 
besought  them  to  seek  the  divine  favor  and  preparation 
for  heaven. 

"  His  practical  zeal  for  God  and  souls,  arising  from  a 
vivid  realization  of  the  truths  of  religion,  was  no  tempo- 
rary  flame.      Burning  with    wonderful  brightness,  and 


WEAPONS  IN  THE  FIGHT.  199 

with  marvellous  fervor,  it  was  the  immediate  cause  of  his 
ceaseless  activity/' 

"  His  intellect  and  emotions  were  stirred.  The  wis- 
dom of  perception  was  united  to  the  vitalizing  gloss  of 
ardent  feeling.  A  man  of  ordinary  capacity,  hurled  ever 
forward  by  burning  zeal,  will  perform  more  than  he  of 
tenfold  ability  cold  and  passionless.  The  most  sluggish 
are  moved  by  the  magnetic  power  of  a  master-mind 
stirred  to  its  depths  by  a  mighty  purpose.  It  was  zeal 
that  possessed  David  Livingstone,  and  drove  him  into 
the  unknown  regions  of  Africa— that  held  him  in  Africa 
until  he  died  on  bended  knee,  hugging  Africa  to  his 
heart  in  dying  prayer.  It  is  not  when  man  has  zeal, 
but  when  zeal  has  the  man,  filling,  controlling,  inspiring 
him,  that  success  is  sure." 

More  than  this.  Uncle  John  possessed   remarkable 
persistency  of  purpose. 

Zeal  is  sometimes  flashy  and  fitful.  It  is  good  for 
a  dash,  but  not  for  a  siege.  It  takes  hold  well,  but  it 
does  not  keep  hold.  In  the  heathery  turf  of  Scotland 
there  is  a  plant  whose  roots  run  but  a  little  distance 
and  then  terminate  as  squarely  as  if  they  had  been 
chopped  off.  The  superstitious  country  folks  around 
assert  that  great  medicinal  virtue  originally  dwelt  in 
these  roots,  and  that  to  destroy  it  the  great  enemy  of 
man  once  bit  them  off.  A  quaint  fancy,  of  course,  but 
something  very  like  it  is  the  fact  in  many  a  life.  Good 
plans  are  frustrated ;  praiseworthy  schemes  issue  in 
nothing;  pious  activities  result  in  failure,  because  an 
inconstant  will  is  allowed  to  bite  them  off. 


aoo  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR. 

Uncle  John's  tenacity  was  wonderful.  It  was  hard 
to  shake  him  off.  We  entered  a  house  of  our  congre- 
gation with  him  one  day  where  we  met  a  young  man 
from  Virginia  who  had  come  North  to  attend  school. 
The  others  present  being  Christians,  Uncle  John  soon 
fastened  all  the  conversation  upon  him.  We  never  saw 
him  so  press  and  push  a  soul.  He  had  found  a  lost 
sheep,  and  seemed  determined,  "  shepherd's  dog" 
that  he  was,  to  keep  at  it  till  he  had  worried  it  home. 
Again  and  again  we  feared  that  he  was  crowding  too 
hard  and  too  far.  But  he  had  been  out  on  many  such 
a  service  before,  and  what  he  was  about  he  knew  very 
well.  Before  the  house  was  left,  a  sincere  penitent 
was  on  his  knees  pleading  for  mercy,  and  was  soon  re- 
joicing in  Christ  as  his  portion.  Three  or  four  years 
have  gone  since  then,  and  the  one  so  wrestled  with, 
a  useful  and  earnest  Christian  now,  has  many  a  time 
blessed  the  Lord  that  he  was  not  given  up  that  day. 

His  tact  was  a  characteristic  that  should  not  be 
underestimated  or  left  unnamed. 

*'  He  seldom  made  a  blunder.  His  knowledge  of 
human  nature  seemed  almost  intuitive.  He  read  men 
at  a  glance,  and  pierced  the  surface  of  things  as  by 
magic.  He  knew  how  to  approach  men,  what  to  say 
to  them,  and  when  to  have  done  with  them.  He 
adapted  himself  to  all  classes  and  conditions  when 
talking  of  Christ.  The  school-girl  or  the  college  pro- 
fessor, the  millionaire  or  the  hard-handed  son  of  toil, 
a  sailor  or  a  soldier — with  equal  readiness  and  skill  he 
met  them  all.     His  mind  was  a  perfect  storehouse  of 


WEAPONS  IN   THE  EIGHT,  201 

Scripture,  and  he  had  a  verse  on  his  tongue's  end  to 
serve  him  at  every  time."  It  must  be  a  very  dull  man 
whom  he  could  not  make  to  see,  a  very  hard  man 
whom  he  could  not  make  to  feel,  a  very  stubborn 
man  whom  he  could  not  to  some  extent  bend,  and  a 
very  sharp  one  whom  he  could  not  match.  When  any 
one  attempted  to  foil  him  he  would  head  him  off  by  a 
move  that  might  be  called  a  piece  of  strategy.  *  On 
one  occasion"  (this  from  Dr.  G.  M.  Stone)  "  he  went 
to  visit  a  young  lady  for  religious  conversation.  She 
saw  him  approaching,  and  went  up  stairs  to  avoid  him. 
Uncle  John,  upon  coming  in,  comprehended  the 
situation  at  a  glance,  and  requested  that  the  door  of 
the  stairway  might  be  opened.  He  then  knelt  at  the 
foot  of  the  stairs  and  sent  up  a  melting  petition  to  God 
in  behalf  of  the  person  named." 

He  was  equal  to  any  emergency  that  might  arise. 
If  any  imagined  that,  because  his  heart  was  so  ten- 
der, he  could  be  easily  outgeneralled  that,  because  he 
was  guileless  and  unsuspecting,  he  could  be  taken  at  a 
disadvantage  and  put  in  an  awkward  place  or  plight, 
they  would  quickly  find  out  their  mistake.  The  Chris- 
tain  Intelligencer  must  be  held  responsible  for  this  story 
— a  story  which  illustrates  this  feature  in  his  character, 
and  is  too  good  to  be  lost  : 

"While  laboring  in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  he 
was  called  out  of  bed  one  night  by  a  messenger,  who 
represented  that  a  soldier  in  a  certain  tent  was  in  great 
distress  of  mind.  On  reaching  the  tent  indicated  he 
found  several  officers  seated  around  a  keg  of  beer  which 


202  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR. 

had  been  brought  from  Washington,  and  he  was  in- 
vited to  join  them  and  take  a  drink.  Taking  in  the 
situation  at  a  glance,  he  told  them  he  could  not  do  it 
without  first  asking  the  blessing  of  God.  So,  grasping 
the  arm  of  the  principal  man,  he  fell  on  his  knees  and 
poured  out  an  ardent  prayer  for  the  company,  after 
which  they  were  glad  to  let  him  go.  The  story  got 
out,  and  for  months  afterward  one  of  those  men  could 
hardly  show  his  face  without  being  asked  about  the 
prayer-meeting  they  had  set  up.  Uncle  John  was  too 
much  for  them." 

Another  who  tells  the  story  says  that  there  were 
two  prayers,  and  singing  and  exhortation  beside. 

Any  number  of  illustrations  might  be  given,  as 
showing  forth  this  characteristic,  but  we  will  add  only 
this. 

"  Shortly  after  the  evacuation  of  Richmond  the 
American  Tract  Society  sent  a  District  Secretary  with 
Uncle  John  into  that  city  to  establish  a  depository  of  its 
publications  and  a  centre  of  colportage.  As  was  right 
these  brethren  sought  the  cooperation,  at  least  the  ap- 
proval,  of  the  pastors  of  the  churches,  a  company  of 
whom  had  assembled  to  consider  their  duty  in  the  new 
emergency.  The  Secretary  being  allowed  to  speak, 
expressed  the  wish  of  his  Society  to  cooperate  with  the 
brethren  in  rebuilding  the  wastes  of  the  war,  in  reorgan- 
izing their  Sabbath-schools  and  granting  them  libraries 
in  lieu  of  those  scattered.  A  prominent  and  honored 
divine,  still  smarting  under  the  inflictions  of  the  Union 
army,  repelled  the  proffered  help,  rejected  the  extended 


WEAPONS  IiV  THE  EIGHT.  203 

hand  of  Christian  friendship,  and  said  somewhat  warmly 
his  people  would  prefer  publications  with  the  imprint  of 
London  to  that  of  New  York.  Others  spoke,  and  a 
storm  was  evidently  rising  when  Uncle  John  in  his 
quick  and  gentle  way  said,  '  Let  us  pray,'  and  without  a 
moment's  hesitation  was  upon  his  knees,  and  poured 
out  such  a  prayer  as  melted  and  harmonized  all  hearts, 
and  as  they  rose  the  venerable  pastor  with  tears  and  a 
warm  handshake,  said,  *  Brethren,  I  cannot  stand  any 
longer  in  opposition  to  your  Christian  offer.  My  heart 
is  with  you.'  Soon  thereafter  a  colporteur  was  appointed 
in  his  locality,  and  has  ever  since  continued  his  labors 
in  that  and  adjoining  places." 

This  other  trait  was  most  remarkably  manifest  in 
the  man  :  Under  all  inequalities  of  circumstance  or 
condition  he  sazu  a  soul  to  be  saved,  and  realized  its 
worth.  When  he  went  to  call  on  the  President  of  the 
United  States  he  paid  him  the  respect  due  to  his  high 
office,  but  did  not  let  go  of  his  hand  till  he  had  spoken 
to  him  of  the  Lord  Jesus  and  put  to  him  most  courte- 
ously the  question  that  was  ever  on  his  lips. 

When  he  was  introduced  to  Brigham  Young  in  his 
Salt  Lake  City  home  he  made  the  same  appeal,  and 
pressed  the  same  searching  inquiry  on  his  soul.  A 
distinguished  Liberal  Religionist  of  our  day  has  taunt- 
ingly said  that  "  evangelicals"  had  shown  a  remarkable 
indifference  about  his  "salvation."  Once  only  had 
anybody  ever  exhorted  him  to  repentance,  and  then  he 
himself  drew  the  exhortation  out.  He  never  could  have 
met  John  Vassar  and  afterward  have  truthfully  said  that 


204  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR, 

Rut  Uncle  John  was  just  as  solicitous  for  a  private 
m  the  army,  a  negro  in  his  cabin,  a  child  in  the  Sun- 
day-school. There  was  no  difference  between  them  in 
his  eyes. 

This  is  the  story  which  his  friend  Rev.  Mr.  Hazard 
tells  :  "  Uncle  John  and  myself  occupied  adjoining 
rooms  in  a  boarding-house  near  the  Capitol  at  Wash- 
ington in  the  winter  of  1867.  On  going  down  stairs 
to  breakfast  one  morning  I  found  him  standing  there 
in  earnest  conversation  with  one  of  the  colored  ser- 
vants, and  it  needed  but  a  hasty  glance  to  see  that  he 
was  urging  a  most  tender  and  affecting  appeal  for  im- 
mediate attention  to  the  concerns  of  the  soul.  Class 
or  color  v/as  of  little  consequence  to  him.  He  was  a 
*  winner  of  souls,'  and  I  doubt  if  he  left  one  his  equal 
in  this  land  when  he  passed  away." 

He  was  a  man  of  deep  and  tender  sympatJiy. 

No  matter  what  indifference,  ingratitude,  or  even 
imposition  he  encountered,  nothing  could  freeze  over, 
nay,  even  chill,  the  generous  sensibilities  of  his  soul. 
Suffering  of  any  sort  would  touch  him  to  the  quick. 
Nor  would  he  show  it  only  by  words  and  tears.  A 
sympathy  that  had  nothing  but  sentiment  in  it  he  rated 
cheap.  He  was  emotional,  but  he  was  practical  as 
well.  Pity  did  not  glisten  in  his  eye  and  drop  from 
his  tongue  only.  It  sent  his  feet  running  on  errands, 
and  his  hand  helping  wherever  there  was  need.  When 
Dr.  Tyng  had  him  at  the  Gospel  Tent  work  in  New 
York  City  he  carried  not  only  the  Bread  of  Life  to  starv- 
ing souls,  but  many  a  literal  loaf  to  hungry  mouths. 


WEAPONS  IN    THE  FIGHT.  205 

Having  access  to  our  lines  in  war  time  to  an  extent 
which  few  enjoyed,  he  would  fairly  load  himself  down  as 
he  returned  from  Washington  or  Alexandria  with  par- 
cels for  the  men.  More  than  once  he  went  from  "  the 
front"  to  the  national  capital  when  they  were  fifty 
miles  apart  to  get  some  delicacies  for  suffering  men, 
walking  both  ways,  nor  counted  it  a  hardship  as  he 
trudged  along. 

In  a  time  of  affliction  his  heart  went  right  out  to- 
ward the  smitten  and  sorrowing.  He  had  gone 
through  sore  straits  of  anguish  himself,  and  when 
others  were  in  them  he  went  to  their  sides  to  weep 
with  those  that  wept  and  whisper  of  the  Comforter. 

While  the  body  of  Dr.  Babcock  lay  in  the  house 
awaiting  burial,  Uncle  John  called,  and  was  taken  by 
the  family  into  the  room  where  the  dear  old  pastor 
rested  as  if  asleep.  Approaching  the  casket,  and  look- 
ing down  upon  the  face  which  death  had  so  little 
changed,  he  exclaimed,  "  My  Father,  my  Father,  the 
chariot  of  Israel  and  the  horsemen  thereof."  Then 
recalling  the  time  of  his  conversion  and  the  guiding 
counsels  given  by  these  now  still  lips,  he  said,  **  Under 
God  I  owe  all  that  I  am  to  this  man."  The  prayer 
that  followed  we  can  imagine,  not  describe.  The 
household  group,  bowed  with  him,  say  that  while  it 
was  being  offered  they  had  such  glimpses  of  the  com- 
ing glory  as  lifted  them  on  eagle's  wings,  and  brought 
the  deep  peace  of  paradise  very  near. 

Many  a  reader  of  this  book  will  remember  some 
similar  scene.     When  the  shadow  of  bereavement  hung 


2o6  UNCLE  JOHN   VASSAR, 

heavily  over  the  heart  and  home,  when  the  coffin  or 
the  new  grave  seemed  somehow  to  have  come  between 
their  souls  and  heaven,  he  carried  them  up  to  his  Lord 
so  lovingly,  and  laid  them  so  feelingly  in  the  Everlast- 
ing Arms,  that  the  sorrow  was  half  lifted  and  the 
shadows  more  than  half  swept  away. 

He  was  a  man  of  marked  humility. 

We  are  quite  sure  that  no  one  ever  heard  him  utter 
a  boastful  word.  "  Unto  me,  who  am  less  than  the 
least  of  all  saijiis,  is  this  grace  given;"  this  was  the 
spirit  in  which  he  lived  his  life  and  did  his  work.  He 
never  sought  to  put  himself  forward  or  take  the  lead. 
No  chaplain,  preacher,  pastor  whom  he  was  aiding  ever 
felt  that  Uncle  John  was  seeking  to  take  the  command 
or  put  the  properly  commissioned  leader  back.  He 
was  particularly  careful  to  magnify  the  office  of  the 
Christian  minister.  In  the  agencies  for  bringing  a  lost 
world  back  to  God  he  always  put  the  living  preacher 
first.  Nor  did  he  parade  his  personal  piety,  nor  trum- 
pet his  attainments  in  the  Christian  life.  Judged  by 
all  the  standards  that  we  know  any  thing  about,  the 
mark  he  reached  was  very  high  ;  but  no  one  would 
have  learned  that  from  his  lips. 

Dr.  Stone  says,  "  I  once  asked  him  what  bethought 
of  the  doctrine  of  perfect  sanctification  in  this  life. 
His  answer  was,  *  I  do  not  doubt  we  may  have  high 
experiences  of  Christ's  love,  and  great  degrees  of  sub- 
mission and  joy,  but  the  difficulty  is  to  keep  there.' 
Many  times  since  I  have  felt  the  wisdom  and  spiritual 
insight  of  his  words." 


WEAPONS   JN    THE  EIGHT. 


207 


So  anxious  was  he  to  avoid  even  the  appearance  of 
egotism  that  it  was  difficult  to  get  him  to  speak  of 
details  and  results  of  work  which  many,  when  he  was 
talking  publicly  and  privately,  would  have  been  pleased 
to  hear. 

And  there  was  no  affectation  in  this.  There  is  an 
assumed  humility  which  is  more  disgusting  and  unbear- 
able than  outspoken,  arrogant  conceit.  Any  thing  but 
a  sanctimionious,  abject  air  put  on  for  effect's  sake  ;  a 
depreciation  of  self  for  the  purpose  of  getting  higher 
compliments.  You  can  laugh  at  overweening  vanity  ; 
the  other  thing  excites  contempt  and  scorn.  Men  saw 
that  Uncle  John's  humility  was  genuine.  Sincerity 
shone  out  in  every  word.  He  had  no  selfish  ends  to 
accomplish.  He  had  no  ambitious  projects  to  carry 
out.  The  test  he  had  to  stand  was  searching.  When 
a  man  emerges  from  obscurity  to  be  recognized  as  a 
positive  force  in  the  religious  movements  of  his  age, 
the  retaining  of  an  unmagnified  self-estimate  is  difficult 
indeed.  But  here  was  a  man  who  bore  the  test.  Let 
others  say  what  they  might,  he  knew  that  he  was  just 
John  Vassar,  nothing  more  and  nothing  less.  Self- 
seeking  of  every  sort  he  scorned  ;  nay,  more,  he  ab- 
horred it  from  his  very  heart.  All  who  came  in  con- 
tact with  him  saw  that  he  was  not  striving  for  honor 
or  grasping  for  money  ;  he  had  just  one  object,  and  that 
was  to  save  their  souls. 

This  enumeration  of  characteristics  would  be  incom- 
plete if  we  failed  to  mention  the  broad  and  catholic 
spirit  of  the  man. 


2oS  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR. 

Denominationally  he  was  a  Baptist.  The  peculiai 
views  and  practices  of  that  branch  of  the  Saviour's 
church  he  intelligently  and  conscientiously  held.  In 
the  proper  place  he  would  maintain  and  defend  them 
He  refused,  however,  again  and  again,  to  leave  the  seu 
vice  of  the  Tract  Society  to  engage  in  purely  denomi- 
national work.  He  felt  he  could  reach  more  men  on 
its  union  basis  than  he  could  if  laboring  in  the  interests 
of  a  particular  sect.  And  to  turn  men  to  righteousness 
was  more  important  in  hie  estimation  than  the  gather- 
ing of  them  around  this  peculiar  standard  or  that.  He 
rendered  a  loyal  allegiance  to  the  ensign  of  his  own 
particular  corps,  but  the  one  flag  on  which  the  cross 
was  blazoned  he  would  lift  over  all.  Around  that  first 
he  would  rally  men,  and  then  afterward  have  them 
go  into  such  church  relations  as  each  might  choose. 

This  being  his  great  aim,  he  went  among  all 
churches  holding  an  evangelical  faith,  little  caring  what 
the  name  might  be.  And  we  doubt  whether  the  sharp- 
est-eared or  the  keenest-eyed  critic  would  have  detected 
the  slightest  difference  in  the  testimony  which  he  bore. 
One  message  he  everj^where  voiced.  One  need  he  em- 
phasized. One  Helper  he  pointed  out.  And  it  might 
be  added  that  the  style  of  working  and  the  results  wit- 
nessed were  everywhere  much  the  same — the  same  in 
kind  at  least  if  not  in  measure.  We  have  in  this  vol- 
ume statements  from  representative  men  in  the  Metho- 
dist, Baptist,  Presbyterian,  Lutheran,  Congregational, 
Episcopal,  and  Reformed  churches,  touching  this  man 
and  his  labors,  and    so  much  alike  are   the  opinions 


WEAPONS  IN    THE  FIGHT,  209 

which  they  pass,  and  the  affection  they  express,  that 
all  of  them  might  have  been  written  by  any  single 
hand. 

The  strongest  points  In  the  man's  character  have 
now  been  sketched.  It  will  seem  like  a  poor,  dull  pic- 
ture to  those  who  knew  the  original  when  he  was  at  his 
best.  It  may  help,  however,  to  show  what  made  him 
such  a  power.  Give  to  any  man  such  qualifications  in 
any  such  degree,  and  he  will  make  himself  felt.  Noth- 
ing so  gets  hold  upon  the  world,  nothing  so  keeps  hold, 
as  an  unselfish,  consecrated  life. 

One  who  has  furnished  some  of  the  incidents  men- 
tioned here  in  a  private  note  says  :  "  You  and  I,  and 
all  who  knew  the  man,  have  before  us  an  evidence  of 
the  truth  of  the  Gospel  and  a  proof  of  its  power. 
Whatever  else  may  be  quibbled  about  or  argued  away, 
the  power  which  kept  that  man  going,  doing,  praying, 
that  cannot  be  disposed  of  either  by  logic  or  a  sneer." 

Mrs.  John  H.  Ketcham,  who  was  familiar  with  his 
army  work,  as  well  as  many  other  labors,  writing  from 
Washington  and  speaking  for  herself  and  the  General, 
says  : 

"Wherever  his  name  was  known  It  was  the 
synonym  for  godliness — that  is,  Christlikeness  ;  and 
'  greater  honor  hath  no  man  than  this. ' 

"  He  will  always  live  in  the  hearts  of  those  who 
knew  him,  and  who  beheld  in  him  one  without  guile 
or  thought  of  self,  who  gave  his  life  to  men  and  to  the 
Master. 

"  Our  recollections  of  him  are  of  the  pleasantest, 


«io  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR. 

and  we  are  glad  that  the  loveliness  of  his  character  and 
the  grandeur  of  a  life  so  full  of  toil  and  sacrifice  are  to 
be  set  forth." 

It  is  very  evident  that  men  of  this  stamp  are  the 
gieat  need  in  all  our  Christian  work.  The  age  is  posi- 
tive, active,  driving,  and  its  v/ickedness  is  of  a  similar 
type.  Men  of  God  who  are  going  to  meet  it  must 
match  it  in  resoluteness  and  aggressiveness.  The 
question  once  asked  by  the  Master  must  be  the  ques- 
tion of  those  v/ho  follow  in  his  train,  '*  Wist  ye  not 
that  I  must  be  about  my  Father's  business?"  The 
motto  for  the  hour  is,  "  At  it,  and  ever  at  it,  till  He 
comes."  The  prevalent  piety  is  not  of  such  a  tone. 
Most  of  it  is  of  a  lower  grade.  It  is  decent,  moderate, 
quiet.  Spiritual  indolence  is  in  these  times  the  worst 
foe  our  holy  religion  has  to  encounter.  It  is  not  that 
men  openly  reject  and  make  war  upon  it,  but  that  they 
drowsily  sleep  around  its  altars.  It  is  that  they  are 
content  with  such  paltry  satisfactions  and  tinsel  com- 
forts as  the  senses  can  bribe  them  with,  heedless  of 
what  bids  them  claim  communion  with  the  skies.  It 
is  that  eternity  has  no  awfulness  to  them,  life  no  depth 
of  meaning,  enjoyment  no  obligations,  bereavement  no 
solemnity,  suffering  and  sorrow  no  prophetic  sugges- 
tions of  an  hereafter,  conscience  no  echo  of  God,  Christ 
no  enrapturing  beauty,  holiness  no  pledge  of  heaven." 
Next  to  the  Holy  Spirit  in  its  sevenfold  energies  the 
great  want  of  the  church  is  godly  men  :  men  girded 
with  awful  zeal ;  men  who  beg  no  favors  of  worldly 
policy  ;  men  who  have  the  staunch,  uncompromising 


WEAPONS  IN   THE  FIGHT.  211 

sincerity  of  old  confessors,  and  yet  whose  speech  Is  the 
benediction  of  charity.  Men  who  will  thrust  in  the 
unwilling  face  of  darkness  all  the  light  of  God,  and 
whom  no  disappointments  can  palsy,  no  opposition 
embitter,  and  no  misgivings  keep  back.  Given  such 
men,  and  they  will  have  influence.  Skeptics,  mor- 
alists, easy-going  religionists,  will  feel  it.  They  may 
not  understand  it,  they  may  not  like  it,  but  there 
will  be  something  real  about  it  ;  and,  after  all,  reality 
is  what  this  w^orld  wants.  When  it  sees  a  man  who 
acts  as  if  this  earth  were  a  show  and  a  dream,  and  his 
home  over  in  "  the  blue  eternities,"  somehow  it  will 
feel  that  he  has  something  which  it  lacks.  Uneasiness 
begins  to  stir.  There  is  a  disposition  to  say,  "  After 
all,  this  is  what  we  want.  We  are  not  satisfied.  We 
are  not  happy.  We  are  not  at  peace.  It's  all  a  make- 
believe,  a  cheat,  a  lie.  Tell  us  how  we  can  be  made 
better,  holier  ;  how  we  can  front  God,  and  look  the 
splendors  of  His  judgment  in  the  face." 

We  have  plenty  of  machinery  for  the  doing  of  evan- 
gelistic work,  but  machinery  will  accomplish  no  more 
toward  bringing  in  Christ's  kingdom  than  draining 
sand-deserts  would  do  toward  making  them  fruitful. 
Men  of  the  right  stamp — this  is  the  crying  want.  These 
multiplied,  and  the  cause  of  the  Master  might  speedily 
move  on  to  those  victories  which  in  Scripture  are 
prophesied  and  pledged. 


CHAPTER   X. 
THE    VETERAN    DISABLED. 

*'  He  holds  me  when  the  billows  smite, 
I  shall  not  fall. 
If  sharp  'tis  short,  if  long  'tis  light  ; 
He  tempers  all." 

James  Hamilton  says  that  old  age  is  a  sort  of 
Terra  del  Fuego,  a  region  where  the  weather  never 
clears.  Cloud  and  drizzle  darken  and  dampen  many 
of  its  days,  and  there  is  little  reason  to  expect  that  it 
will  be  otherwise  while  life  shall  last. 

Uncle  John  could  hardly  be  called  old  when  he  be- 
gan to  break.  Before  he  had  seen  sixty  years  infirmi- 
ties were  pressing  heavily,  and  thereafter  he  saw  few 
hours  altogether  free  from  pain.  It  is  not  strange  that 
it  was  so.  The  only  wonder  is  that  his  bodily  vigor 
was  retained  unimpaired  so  long.  Had  he  not  come 
of  sturdy  stock  he  could  not  have  borne  the  strain  of 
the  previous  five-and-twenty  years.  His  unflagging 
spirit  constantly  overlooked  the  body,  or  overestimated 
and  overtaxed  its  powers.  Nature  will  ultimately  ex- 
act the  penalty  for  such  violation  of  her  laws.  No 
matter  how  good  the  object  in  the  attainment  of  which 
strength  is  overtasked,  the  effect  is  not  likely  to  be 
averted  or  escaped.     God  wrought  no  miracle  to  save 


THE    VETERAN  DISABLED.  213 

his   servant  from   the  consequences  of  his  exhausting 
and  ahnost  superhuman  work. 

For  the  last  three  or  four  years  he  was  much  of  the 
time  really  unfit  to  keep  about.  Mind  and  body  had 
been  kept  on  the  tightest  stretch.  They  now  needed 
rest.  But  rest  was  precisely  that  of  which  he  would 
not  hear.  His  soul  was  as  alert  and  eager  as  in  his 
prime.  Flesh  and  blood  must  serve  it  still.  The  feet 
must  not  stop  running  if  they  were  tired.  Let  him 
keep  right  on  till  he  dropped  in  the  harness.  That 
v/as  the  way  he  wanted  it  arranged.  His  Lord  did  not 
so  order  it. 

A  year  before  he  entered  on  the  rest  that  re- 
maineth,  the  physical  system  got  so  utterly  out  of 
order  that  it  stopped  short,  unable  longer  to  obey  the 
still  resolute  spirit  that  sought  to  urge  it  on. 

The  last  public  work  undertaken  was  at  Minden, 
Montgomery  County,  N.  Y.,  the  following  account  of 
which  is  given  by  Rev.  J.  H.  Weber  : 

"  In  the  summer  of  1877,  while  visiting  Coxsackie 
on  the  Hudson,  I  heard  much  of  the  labors  which 
Uncle  John  had  performed  there  the  previous  winter. 
It  immediately  occurred  to  me  that  he  was  just  the 
man  I  had  been  praying  for  and  looking  for  to  assist 
me  in  meetings  on  my  own  field. 

"  Arrangements  were  made  with  the  Tract  Society, 
and  on  the  third  of  December  a  letter  came  telling  me 
to  meet  him  at  Fort  Plain.  When  the  train  arrived 
the  first  man  to  step  off  was  Uncle  John.  On  the  way 
to  my  house  I  saw  he  was  sick,  and  determined  to 
10 


214  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR. 

make  it  as  comfortable  and  easy  as  possible  by  pro- 
viding a  warm  room  to  stop  in  by  night,  and  a  horse 
to  carry  him  around  by  day.  He  wanted  to  start  out 
that  very  afternoon,  but  I  persuaded  him  to  rest. 

"  The  next  day  we  started  out  from  house  to  house, 
and  a  day  or  two  later  he  said  to  me,  *  Brother  Weber, 
we  have  not  got  hold  of  the  right  string  yet  ;  but  keep 
on  praying,  and  the  Lord  will  show  it  to  us  yet,  before 
long.'  That  day  I  had  a  call  for  a  funeral  service  at 
Bethel,  and  when  he  heard  of  it  he  appeared  to  feel 
impressed  that  the  Lord  would  open  the  way  there, 
and  that  that  would  be  the  place  to  take  hold.  During 
the  funeral  I  was  convinced  that  the  Spirit  was  working 
there  beyond  a  doubt,  and  so  appointed  meetings  for 
the  following  v/eek.  The  first  night  Uncle  John  did 
not  get  there,  as  he  had  a  meeting  fixed  for  else- 
where ;  but  when  an  invitation  was  given  nine  rose  for 
prayer. 

"  The  next  night  he  arrived  and  appeared  to  be  in 
his  element  at  once.  He  prayed,  he  sang,  he  talked, 
and  the  whole  congregation  seemed  melted  into  tears. 
In  his  visitations  no  shop  or  store  or  house  was  passed. 

"  In  one  yard  he  saw  a  man  of  more  than  seventy 
chopping  wood.  Uncle  John  stopped  and  began  to 
question  him  about  his  hope.  He  frankly  avowed  that 
he  was  a  spiritualist,  that  he  did  not  believe  the  Bible, 
but  added  that  he  was  willing  Uncle  John  should  do 
all  the  good  to  others  that  he  could.  A  few  more 
words  of  entreaty  were  pressed  on  him,  and  then  we 
passed   along,    Uncle    John   praying  that   God   v»^ould 


THE    VETERAN  DISABLED.  215 

'save  that  dear  old  man.'  To-day  he  is  a  consistent 
Christian,  and  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church. 

"  Into  the  stores  and  shops  he  would  often  run  for 
a  few  minutes,  and  talk  to  those  there  found,  and 
sometimes  offer  prayer.  One  man  since  his  death  has 
said  to  me,  *  I  don't  believe  that  I  should  ever  have 
been  converted  if  he  had  not  come  into  my  shop  and 
prayed  for  me  and  plead  with  me  as  he  did.' 

"  Sometimes  a  group  of  thoughtless  or  reckless 
young  men  would  come  into  the  evening  service,  and 
by  talking  and  laughing  disturb  the  meeting.  Soon 
as  anything  of  the  kind  was  begun.  Uncle  John  would 
quietly  move  that  way,  and  getting  into  the  knot 
would  drop  down  and  offer  such  a  prayer  as  would 
shame  them,  and  sometimes  solemnize  every  soul. 

"  So  for  two  weeks  the  work  v/ent  on,  till  the  last 
night  came  that  he  was  to  be  with  us.  Such  words  of 
encouragement  to  the  converts,  such  exhortations  to 
the  ungodly,  it  seems  to  me  I  never  heard,  nor  do  I 
expect  ever  to  hear  their  like  again.  When  the  ad- 
dress was  finished  he  fell  upon  his  knees  and  offered 
the  last  prayer  we  were  ever  to  listen  to  from  his  lips. 
When  the  service  was  over  all  crowded  around  him, 
anxious  for  one  more  grasp  of  his  hand.  To  each 
there  was  a  word  of  personal  advice  and  a  '  God  bless 
you,'  to  which  many  a  heart  sent  back  a  like  response. 

"  When  we  parted  the  next  morning,  he  said, 
*  The  Lord  be  with  you,  my  dear  brother,  and  with 
this  people  ;  and  remember  old  Uncle  John  Vassar 
sometimes  in  your  prayers.' 


2i6  UNCLE  JOHN  VASSAR, 

When  he  reached  his  home,  with  the  last  days  of 
1877,  the  labors  of  love  which  for  more  than  a  quarter 
of  a  century  he  had  pushed  so  unremittingly  were  sub- 
stantially at  an  end.  For  more  than  six  months  he  lay 
entirely  prostrate,  passing  through  frequent  paroxysms 
of  pain  that  were  pitiful  to  behold,  and  that  medical  skill 
was  powerless  to  prevent  or  greatly  lighten.  When 
midsummer  came  he  began  to  rally,  and  for  a  time  it 
seemed  not  impossible  that  he  might  yet  do  a  little  light 
work  in  the  vineyard  of  the  Lord.  He  was  seen  upon 
the  streets  once  more,  and  filled  occasionally  his  seat  in 
the  sanctuary  on  the  Sabbath  or  in  the  social  meetings 
of  the  week.  His  once  quick  step  had  grown  slow,  but 
his  voice  was  clear,  and  something  of  the  old  smile  again 
lit  up  his  face.  It  was  only  the  brief  brightening  of  the 
lamp,  however,  preparatory  to  the  going  out. 


CHAPTER    XI. 
HONORABLY   DISCHARGED. 

*'  His  soul  to  Him  who  gave  it  lose  ; 
God  led  it  to  its  long  repose, 

Its  glorious  rest. 
And  though  the  warrior's  sun  has  set, 
Its  light  shall  linger  round  us  yet, 

Bright,  radiant,  blest." 

When  fruit  is  altogether  ripe  it  drops  readily  from 
the  bough.  Till  then  it  clings  with  a  tenacious  hold. 
Uncle  John  did  not  at  once  let  go  of  life.  In  spite  of 
sufferings  that  at  times  were  terrible,  he  was  in  no 
hurry  to  shake  off  mortality  and  have  the  battle  done. 
Not  only  was  the  life  instinct  strong,  but  he  saw  much 
yet  remaining  to  be  done,  and  in  the  doing  of  it  he 
would  fain  bear  a  part. 

In  the  early  autumn  of  1878  the  tokens  of  im- 
provement noticed  in  the  previous  chapter  were  quite 
marked.  He  regarded  them  as  indications  to  buckle 
the  harness  on  again,  and  began  to  lay  plans  for  the 
weeks  ahead. 

Under  date  of  October  ist,  to  Rev.  Mr.  Owen,  of 
Wyoming  County,  N.  Y.,  he  thus  writes  : 

*'  Dear  Brother  Owen  :  I  am  getting  better  every 
day,  and  can  work  some.  Please  write  to  New  York 
to  the  Secretary,  Rev.  G.  L.  Shearer,  and  see  if  I  can- 


2i8  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR. 

not  come  to  you  at  once.  I  think  the  Lord  will  work 
for  His  glory  in  your  place.  How  can  I  reach  you, 
and  what  will  be  the  railroad  fare  ?" 

October  9th  he  sends  another  postal,  reading 
thus  : 

"The  Society  and  my  doctor  both  say  I  cannot 
come  to  you  ;  but  I  want  to  come  and  see  the  salva- 
tion of  our  God  once  more.  Send  me  a  card  and  tell 
me  the  route." 

The  Society  now  interposed  its  authority,  and  per- 
emptorily forbade  him  to  engage  in  any  kind  of  work. 
They  saw  the  ruling  passion  so  asserting  itself,  and 
were  so  fearful  it  might  huriy  him  into  engagements 
that  he  was  utterly  unfit  to  fill  that  they  even  requir- 
ed him  for  his  own  protection  to  sign  a  paper  obli- 
gating himself  for  the  present  to  keep  still.  The  en- 
forced idleness  was  painful  to  him,  and  but  for  the 
giving  of  such  a  promise  he  would  probably  have  made 
some  feeble  and  futile  attempt  to  gird  on  the  old  re- 
sponsibilities. 

October  came  toward  its  close,  and  though  weak 
he  was  tolerably  comfortable.  With  the  last  days  of 
the  month  the  Prophetic  Conference  was  to  meet  in 
,the  church  of  his  good  friend.  Dr.  S.  H.  Tyng,  Jr.  He 
felt  sure  he  might  venture  to  attend  this  gathering, 
and  the  family,  seeing  his  anxiety,  assented  to  his  plans. 
Accompanied  by  his  eldest  son,  he  went  to  New  York, 
visited  again  those  with  whom  he  had  been  so  long  as 
sociated  in  the  Tract  House,  and  spent  a  pleasant  Sab- 
bath among  dear  Christian   friends.     The  meetings  of 


HONORABLY  DISCHARGED.  219 

the  Conference  in  Holy  Trinity,  where  he  had  enjoyed 
some  blessed  seasons  previously,  were  to  him  a  great 
delight.  He  was  a  firm  believer  in  the  general  doc- 
trines there  discussed,  and  had  been  for  many  years. 
His  saintly  father  had  held  to  "that  blessed  hope," 
and  to  Uncle  John  it  was  just  as  sweet.  Concerning  it 
we  are  not  here  called  upon  to  speak.  Only  this  in 
passing  should  be  said,  that  if  the  doctrine — as  is 
sometimes  urged^^does  relax  the  hand  of  pious  effort, 
and  weaken  faith  in  the  Gospel's  power  to  save,  it  cer- 
tainly did  not  produce  in  him  its  natural  fruits. 

This  reunion  with  old  brethren  and  friends  seemed 
to  act  like  a  tonic.  He  was  more  like  himself  than  he 
had  been  for  months.  Dr.  Tyng  says  that  as  he  went 
out  from  the  church  for  the  last  time  he  looked  up  at 
it,  and  thinking  of  the  great  numbers  who  in  it,  or 
through  its  services,  had  been  led  to  Christ,  he  lifted  up 
his  hands  and  said,  "  God  bless  the  dear  old  soul-trap:' 

Inelegant  the  term,  but  blessedly  expressive. 

For  a  week  or  more  after  reaching  home  he  seemed 
better  than  before  his  trip.  He  was  able  to  attend 
one  or  two  of  the  evening  meetings  in  his  own  church, 
and  those  who  listened  to  him  said  that  almost  the  old 
fire  and  fervor  appeared  to  flash.  Then  came  a  most 
distressing  relapse.  All  the  favorable  symptoms  dis- 
appeared. The  two  elder  boys-  one  from  New  York, 
and  one  from  St.  Louis--were  summoned  home. 

Three  weeks  of  intense  suffering  followed,  com- 
pletely exhausting  his  little  remaining  strength.  There 
were  no  spiritual   raptures    such    as  many  supposed 


220  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR. 

would  be  given  him  on  a  dying  bed.  As  the  body 
wasted,  the  quick,  active  mind  declined.  The  strong, 
earnest  spirit  seemed  to  share  in  the  prostration  of  the 
earthly  house  it  so  long  had  lived  in.  The  mortal 
tabernacle  was  falling,  and  the  immortal  tenant  felt 
the  jar. 

We  might  have  wished  it  otherwise,  but  the  Lord 
makes  no  mistakes.  It  is  best  to  say  about  it  or  look 
at  it  as  Paul  did  when  he  said,  "  The  good  and  accept- 
able and  perfect  wdll  of  God."  Even  had  he  been 
granted  the  most  triumphant  death-bed,  that  could 
have  added  little  to  the  testimony  which  had  for  thirty 
years  been  borne. 

The  last  day  came.  It  was  Friday,  December  6th. 
His  faithful  medical  attendant.  Dr.  A.  B.  Harvey, 
came  in  to  make  his  usual  call.  For  more  than  a 
quarter  of  a  century  he  had  been  the  family  physician, 
the  firm  friend,  the  loving  Christian  brother.  His 
practised  eye  saw  that  the  end  was  not  far  away,  and 
a  few  hours  later  he  came  again.  Then  frankly  he  told 
the  sinking  man  that  the  parting  time  had  come. 
Tenderly  he  recalled  their  past  experiences,  joyfully 
he  spoke  of  their  common  hopes,  tearfully  he  bade  him 
good-by  till  they  should  meet  again  in  the  house  of 
many  mansions.  The  departing  veteran  seemed  sur- 
prised. He  had  not  thought  the  change  so  near. 
Even  when  so  plainly  told  that  he  was  at  the  river's 
brink  and  soon  must  go  across,  only  partially  did  he 
appear  to  realize  the  fact,  and  parted  with  the  doctor 
as  if  fully  expecting  to  see  him  the  following  day. 


HONORABLY  DISCHARGED.  221 

In  the  afternoon  the  household  became  convinced 
that  only  a  few  hours  remained.  All  gathered  around 
his  bed — the  wife,  who  for  twenty-four  years  had  been 
his  companion  and  counsellor,  Walter,  Albert,  Hattie, 
Johnnie — the  living  children  of  his  love.  He  knew 
them  all,  and  seemed  pleased  that  they  were  near. 
That  was  about  all  he  appeared  to  note.  The  brief 
December  day  darkened  into  night.  The  group  of 
watchers  was  enlarged  by  the  arrival  of  a  sister,  a 
niece,  and  one  or  two  other  friends.  Gently,  pain- 
lessly, but  silently,  he  was  passing  into  the  presence  of 
the  holy  God.  An  hour  before  the  end  came  the  lips 
moved,  and  the  wife,  bending  over  him,  caught  the 
word  "  farewell — farewell."  Once  again  there  was  a 
faint  whisper.  It  was  "  Hallelujah  !"  just  that,  and 
nothing  more. 

A  little  after  seven  o'clock  the  last  breath  fluttered 
from  between  the  whitening  lips.  The  soldier  had 
received  his  discharge.  The  victor  had  gone  to  get 
und  wear  his  crown. 

"One  day,  his  voice  was  heard  in  Israel 
Amid  her  bannered  legions,  crying  Cheer  ! 
To  God's  elected  hosts  in  holy  war  ; 
Another,  and  he  dropped  his  tempered  blade, 
And  hushed  his  battle-cry,  his  warning  note, 
And  trailed  his  standard  in  the  dust  of  death. 
But  'twas  a  glorious  exchange  for  him  ! 
His  sword  laid  down,  he  took  the  sceptre  up  ; 
His  call  to  arms,  changed  to  the  victor's  song  ; 
His  war-worn  banner,  to  triumphant  robes  ; 
His  dying  bed,  to  an  undying  throne.  " 

The  roof  which  sheltered  his  dying  head  was  the 
10* 


222  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR. 

gift  of  some  loving  Christian  friends.  He  left  nothing 
besides  to  the  widow  and  the  children,  save  a  spotless 
name,  and  a  record  of  heroic  devotion  and  saintly  sac- 
rifice which  this  generation  has  yet  to  see  surpassed. 


On  Monday  afternoon,  December  9th,  those  who 
loved  the  man  bore  his  body  to  its  rest.  The  day  was 
dark  v/ith  storm.  Early  there  was  a  heavy  snow-fall, 
later  came  on  a  drenching  rain.  The  church  on  Mill 
Street  nevertheless  was  filled.  Taking  into  account 
the  condition  of  the  streets,  it  was  as  large  a  funeral 
gathering  as  Poughkeepsie  has  often  seen.  The  city 
of  his  birth  and  lifelong  residence  kept  a  sacred  me- 
morial day.  Uncle  John's  favorite  Psalm,  the  one 
hundred  and  third,  was  read  by  his  long-time  friend, 
Dr.  Stone,  of  Tarrytown. 

Dr.  Kendrick,  his  pastor,  then  dwelt  briefly  on  the 
man's  career.  "  If  I  were  preaching  a  funeral  sermon 
over  Uncle  John,"  he  said,  "  this  should  be  my  text : 
*  The  zeal  of  thine  house  hath  eaten  me  up.' 

"  If  he  had  a  coat  of  arms,  the  proper  device  for  it 
would  have  been  a  burning  heart.  Though  zealous, 
he  was  not  censorious.  He  lived  in  a  higher  sphere  of 
spiritual  life  than  his  brethren,  but  he  was  always  most 
patient  with  them.  *  He  allured  to  heaven  and  led 
the  way.*  Though  his  zeal  was  not  properly  one-sided 
or  narrow,  it  still  took  very  much  the  direction  of 
anxiety  for  souls.  And  his  efforts  always  kept  even 
pace  with  his  intense  desires.      If    no  opportunities 


"THE   CHURCH    ON    MILL   STREET' 


HONORABLY  DISCHARGED,  223 

offered  for  doing  good,  he  went  in  search  of  them.  In 
this  respect  I  have  never  known  his  Hke." 

Dr.  Stephen  H.  Tyng,  Jr.,  of  New  York,  followed 
Dr.  Kendrick.  He  said  :  "  I  parted  with  Uncle  John 
at  the  throne  of  grace  ;  I  expect  to  meet  him  next  at 
the  throne  of  glory.  He  was  like  Bunyan  in  the  origi- 
nality and  depth  of  his  experience  ;  like  Harlan  Page 
in  his  personal  endeavors  ;  like  Hedley  Vicars  in  his 
soldierly  firmness.  He  might  have  been  a  capitalist, 
but  he  chose  to  live  for  Christ.  His  history  will  stand 
out  as  a  representation  of  all  unselfishness." 

Rev.  Dr.  Fulton,  of  Brooklyn,  said  :  "In  this  life 
now  closed  I  hear  the  echoes  of  that  apostolic  shout 
of  triumph,  *  Thanks  be  unto  God  who  always  causeth 
us  to  trium.ph  in  Christ.'  Uncle  John  took  no  glory 
to  himself  ;  he  found  in  the  Lord  Jesus  the  source  of 
his  power,  and  the  earnest  of  his  victory.  He  started 
as  a  humble  colporteur.  He  grew  to  be  a  master  in 
Israel.  It  was  in  Boston  I  first  saw  him.  There  was 
a  meeting  in  Tremont  Temple,  and  God  was  there. 
Uncle  John  was  in  the  city,  and  having  a  spare  hour, 
dropped  in.  I  obtained  his  help  for  a  while.  How 
he  took  hold  !  I  hardly  sav/  him,  but  how  he  did  pull 
sinners  out  of  the  fire  !  Day  after  day  he  brought  in 
trophies  and  laid  them  at  the  Master's  feet.  Once  I 
got  him  on  a  Sunday  afternoon  to  take  my  place  in  the 
pulpit  at  the  *  Temple  '  and  address  the  crowds  that 
filled  those  seats.  It  was  one  of  the  most  impressive 
discourses  I  ever  heard. 

"  In  the  school-houses    and    country  churches  of 


224  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR, 

New  England  his  face  has  been  seen.  Over  its  bleak 
hills  and  through  its  valleys  his  feet  have  carried  him 
as  he  sought  the  wandering  sheep.  He  is  now  with 
Jesus,  and  is  crowned  a  hero  evermore." 

Rev.  Dr.  Stevenson  and  Rev.  George  L.  Shearer, 
Secretaries  of  the  Tract  Society,  were  on  the  platform, 
and  the  former  spoke  of  the  traits  of  character  which 
made  Uncle  John  "  the  most  laborious  and  the  most 
useful  Christian  layman  of  his  age."  He  was  declared 
to  have  been  "  undisguisedly  frank  and  straightfor- 
ward, fearless  in  reproof,  unflinching  in  maintaining 
the  right,  gently  firm  in  reclaiming  the  erring,  mag- 
netic in  action,  fervent  in  prayer,  convincing  in  argu- 
ment, resistless  in  appeal,  wise  in  all  necessary  w^orldly 
wisdom,  undisturbed  in  emergencies,  and,  above  all 
and  beyond  all,  had  all  these  characteristics  so  suffused 
and  energized  and  directed  by  the  Spirit  of  Christ  as 
to  make  him  the  most  successful  lay  missionary  of 
modern  days." 

Rev.  J.  Hyatt  Smith  uttered  the  closing  words. 
He  said  :  "  John  Vassar  illustrated  more  fully  than 
any  man  whom  I  ever  knew  the  apostle's  ideal,  *  dili- 
gent in  business,  fervent  in  spirit,  serving  the  Lord.' 
Tenderly  and  touchingly  he  dwelt  upon  the  intimacies 
and  memories  of  thirty  years,  and  the  ties  which  during 
those  years  had  not  only  been  preserved  unweakened, 
but  had  steadily  grown  stronger. 

Dr.  Wheeler,  of  Poughkeepsie,  pastor  of  the  Pres- 
byterian  Church,  then  led  in  prayer,  thanking  God  for 
the  man,  and  the  grace  that  had  made  him  what  he 


HONORABLY  DISCHARGED.  225 

was  ;  and  then  the  choir,  as  a  fitting  close  to  what  had 
been  a  joyful  and  triumphant  service,  sang  : 

*'  I  know  not  the  hour  when  my  Lord  shall  come 
To  take  me  away  to  His  own  dear  home  ; 
But  I  know  that  His  presence  will  lighten  the  gloom. 
And  that  will  be  glory  for  me." 

After  the  singing,  hundreds  passed  around  to  look 
upon  the  well-known  face— "  a  face  that,  despite  the 
storm,  despite  suffering,  despite  death,  was  in  perfect 
peace." 

It  was  a  mixed  company  that  passed  by  the  casket 
for  a  parting  look.  The  most  honored  citizens  of  the 
community  were  in  it,  and  every  intermediate  social 
grade  between  them  and  the  poorest  blacks,  and  by  all 
he  was  sincerely  mourned. 

The  afternoon  was  far  spent  when  his  beloved 
brethren,  Richard  Brittain,  Thomas  Hull,  Stephen 
Hull,  R.  E.  Lansing,  Christian  Mattern,  James 
Smiley,  and  Adam  Caire,  as  bearers,  laid  the  body  in 
the  receiving  tomb  on  the  Hudson's  banks,  resting  in 
the  blessed  trust  expressed  in  Christian  prayer  for 
ages,  that  "  through  the  grave  and  gate  of  death"  he 
should  "  pass  to  a  joyful  resurrection." 

Another  has  sweetly  voiced  the  feelings  with  which 
we  left  the  worn-out  tabernacle  for  a  little  season 
there- 

From  north  and  south,  from  east  and  west. 

Bring  flowers,  a  wreath  to  twine 
Above  the  soldier  laid  to  rest, 

This  friend  of  thine  and  mine. 


2  26  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR, 

O'er  hill  and  vale,  with  tireless  feet, 

Glad  messages  he  bore — 
The  story  of  the  cross  so  sweet : 

He  told  it  o'er  and  o'er. 

That  voice  is  hushed  in  silence  now, 

The  folded  hands  at  rest  ; 
Soft  pillowed  is  the  weary  brow. 

In  dreamless  slumber  blest. 

Then  twine  a  wreath  of  sweetest  flowers, 

And  place  it  o'er  his  brow  : 
The  sadness  and  the  grief  are  ours  ; 
He's  "  more  than  conqueror"  new. 

M.  H.  W. 
SouTHFiELD,  Mass.,  Dec.  17,  1878. 


CHAPTER   XII. 
SERVICE    REVIEWED. 

**  Champion  of  Jesus — man  of  God, 
Servant  of  Christ,  well  done  ! 
Thy  path  of  thorns  hath  now  been  trod. 
Thy  red-cross  crown  is  won." 

The  natural  limits  of  this  memoir  have  been  already 
reached.  The  story  of  this  humble,  godly,  useful  life 
has  been  told,  and  it  might  properly  be  left  to  go  be- 
fore men's  eyes  without  the  addition  of  another  line. 

But  in  Dr.  Tyng's  and  Rev.  Mr.  Brouner's  churches 
in  New  York,  in  Dr.  Fulton's  and  J.  Hyatt  Smith's 
in  Brooklyn,  in  Rev.  Mr.  Twichell's  in  Hartford, 
Conn.,  in  Rev.  Mr.  Holman's,  Bunker  Hill,  Boston, 
and  elsewhere,  memorial  sermons  were  preached,  or 
memorial  services  held,  the  Sabbath  following  the 
burial  of  Uncle  John  ;  and  these  unusual,  perhaps 
unprecedented,  marks  of  affection  and  respect  demand 
some  recognition  here. 

Articles,  moreover,  from  at  least  fifty  different 
papers,  secular  and  religious,  are  in  our  hands,  all  pay- 
ing tributes  to  the  man  such  as  fall  to  the  lot  of  few. 

The  material  thus  furnished  has  been  largely  drawn 
on  in  the  preparation  of  this  book.  The  commemorative 
meetings  in  the  Holy  Trinity  and  North  Churches,  of 


228  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR, 

New  York,  however,  have  not  been  referred  to  in  these 
pages,  and  several  newspaper  articles,  graphic  and 
beautiful,  have  been  left  unused,  because  of  an  un- 
willingness to  insert  them  in  fragments  or  parts. 

To  these  tributes  let  us  devote  a  few  leaves. 

Of  the  gathering  in  Dr.  Tyng's  church  on  Sunday- 
evening,  December  15th,  we  have  only  the  meagre 
press  report.  The  night  was  unpropitious,  but  the 
attendance  was  very  large. 

**  The  pastor  in  opening  the  service  said  that  he 
had  thought  of  draping  the  pulpit  in  mourning,  but 
on  reconsideration  he  concluded  that  it  would  be  out 
of  harmony  with  the  cheerful  spirit  of  him  who  had 
just  entered  into  his  rest.  He  would  therefore  ask 
the  congregation,  instead  of  lamenting,  to  unite  in 
singing  a  hymn  of  triumph — *  Whom  have  I  in  heaven 
but  Thee.' 

"  The  singing  over.  Dr.  Tyng  remarked  that  Rob- 
ert Hall,  in  conversation  with  Wilberforce,  said  that 
his  idea  of  heaven  was  that  it  was  a  place  of  rest. 
Wilberforce  replied  that  his  idea  was  that  it  was  all 
love.  In  the  faith  of  John  Vassar  the  ideas  of  rest 
and  love  were  about  equally  blended. 

"  The  Rev.  G.  L.  Shearer,  of  the  Tract  Society, 
speaking  of  his  army  labors,  said  that  he  seemed  to  be 
everywhere  where  he  was  most  wanted.  He  marched 
with  the  soldiers  and  bore  all  their  hardships,  carrying 
often  the  guns  and  knapsacks  of  younger  men  whose 
strength  had  failed.  In  the  hospital  he  was  as  tender  as 
a  mother  to  the  wounded  men.  When  too  weak  to  feed 


SERVICE  REVIEWED,  229 

themselves,  he  would  feed  them,  and  sometimes  take 
a  spade  and  dig  their  graves.  His  labors  among  the 
miners  of  the  West,  the  Mormons,  and  the  freedmen, 
were  also  illustrated  and  described. 

'*  General  Clinton  B.  Fisk  said  :  In  camp  and 
march  and  bivouac,  in  field  and  fight  and  hospital, 
Uncle  John  was  a  true  soldier  of  the  cross.  He  was  a 
Moody  and  Sankey  combined.  His  sweet  voice  could 
be  heard  at  all  times  sounding  the  praises  of  Jesus. 
When,  after  hard  days  in  the  field,  the  officers  would 
say,  '  Uncle  John,  you're  tired,'  his  cheery  voice 
would  reply  in  song  : 

'  One  more  day's  work  for  Jesus  ! 
How  sweet  the  work  has  been  !  * 

"  Dr.  J.  D.  Fulton  said  :  *  Uncle  John  Vassar  is 
to  me  the  marvel  of  the  age.  I  know  of  at  least  three 
services  in  memory  of  the  man  which  are  this  hour 
being  held,  and  tears  are  falling  over  his  departure  in 
the  pine  woods  of  Maine,  among  the  mines  and  moun- 
tains of  California,  and  the  cotton  fields  and  savannas 
of  the  South.  He  was  a  wonderful  illustration  of  re- 
hgion,  pure  and  undefiled.  It  is  with  unfeigned  grati- 
tude to  God  that  this  statement  can  be  made  in  this 
and  any  other  presence,  and  have  it  stand  unchallenged 
as  an  admitted  truth.'  The  reverend  doctor  briefly 
referred  to  the  talking  gifts  of  the  old  veteran,  and 
concluded  by  saying  that  America  would  yet  venerate 
his  name  as  England  venerates  the  name  of  Bunyan. 

"  At  the  North  Baptist  Church  the  pastor,  Rev.  J. 


230  UNCLE  JOHN  VASSAR. 

J.  Brouner,  and  Dr.  A.  S.  Patton,  gave  many  facts  to 
illustrate  his  deep  humility  and  thorough  consecration. 
Among  the  reminiscences  of  his  pious  and  unaffected 
ingenuity  in  commending  Christ  to  men,  Dr.  Patton 
referred  to  having  introduced  him  to  the  proprietor  of 
a  noted  summer  resort  who  was  a  pronounced  Unitarian. 
Uncle  John  broke  forth  into  a  strain  of  eloquent  ad- 
miration of  the  beauty  of  the  surrounding  scenery, 
made  all  the  more  charming  to  him  because  displaying 
the  wisdom  and  power  and  goodness  of  his  heavenly 
Father.  *  But/  said  he,  *  His  great  love,  manifested 
in  giving  His  dear  Son  to  die  for  sinners,  eclipses  every- 
thing else.'  And  then,  with  tremulous  voice  and  tear- 
ful eye,  he  added,  'How  the  dear  Lord  Jesus  did  love 
us !' " 

Of  the  newspaper  articles  we  select  seven  or  eight 
from  representative  men  in  various  branches  of  Christ's 
church. 

The  first  is  from  the  pen  of  Rev.  A.  J.  Gordon,  D.  D., 
in  the  Watchzvord. 

*'The  record  of  John  E.  Vassar's  death  will  awaken 
little  comment,  perhaps,  in  the  world  ;  but  I  venture 
to  say  that  it  marks  a  welcome  into  the  presence  of 
Christ  in  Paradise  such  as  fev/  saints  have  received  in 
modern  times.  I  am  sure  that  hundreds  will  concur 
with  me  in  the  opinion  that  since  the  days  of  Harlan 
Page  the  world  has  had  few,  if  any,  such  workers  for 
Christ  as  this  dear  man  of  God.  His  zeal  and  conse- 
cration were  so  intense,  indeed,  that  it  astonished 
moderate  Christians,  and  often  compelled  him  to  hear 


SERVICE  REVIEWED.  231 

even  from  the  lips  of  Christ's  professed  disciples  the 
charge,  *  Thou  art  beside  thyself.*  But  often  as  he 
met  that  reproof  it  never  offended  him.  His  reply 
was  ever  that  of  the  great  apostle  :  '  For  whether  we 
be  beside  ourselves,  it  is  to  God  ;  or  whether  we  be 
sober,  it  is  for  your  cause.  For  the  love  of  Christ  con- 
straineth  us.'  Those  of  us  who  knew  him  intimately 
know  how  blessedly  sane  he  was  on  all  high  themes 
of  divine  love  and  holy  obedience  to  Christ  Jesus 
the  Saviour  ;  how  rational  he  was  when  judged  by  the 
text,  '  For  me  to  live  is  Christ.*  He  was  eccentric 
only  as  the  orbit  of  the  sun  is  eccentric  to  that  of  a 
wandering  star.  He  kept  the  orbit  in  which  Christ 
his  Master  had  put  him  so  steadily  and  so  un- 
swervingly that  easy-going,  half-hearted  Christians  were 
amazed  and  perplexed.  Indeed,  far  beyond  any  man 
whom  I  ever  knew,  was  it  true  of  him  that  his  citi- 
zenship was  in  heaven  ;  and  so  filled  was  he  with 
the  glory  and  the  power  of  the  heavenly  life,  that  to 
many  he  seemed  like  a  foreigner  speaking  an  un- 
known language. 

"  But  how  good  it  was  to  be  with  him,  and  to  be 
kindled  by  the  intense  ardor  of  his  consecration  ! 

**  I  gladly  and  gratefully  pay  this  tribute  to  his  mem- 
ory, that  I  have  never  been  so  humbled  and  quickened  by 
contact  with  any  living  man  as  with  him. 

"  He  was  not  a  preacher,  but  counted  it  his  special 
calling  to  go  from  house  to  house,  beseeching  men,  in 
Christ's  stead,  to  be  reconcile'd  to  God.  Often  he  would 
so  impress  ministers,  who  heard  him  talk,  with  his  intense 


232  UNCLE  JOHN  VASSAR, 

and  burning  earnestness,  that  they  would  urge  him  to 
preach  for  them  ;  but  his  pleasant  reply  always  was, 
*0h,  no!  I  am  not  a  pastor,  but  only  a  shepherd's  dog, 
ready  to  run  after  the  lost  sheep,  and  try  to  bring  them 
home  to  the  Shepherd.'  And  that  work  he  pursued  with 
marvellous  consecration  and  singleness  of  purpose. 

"If  he  found  himself  obliged  to  wait  a  few  minutes 
for  dinner,  he  would  often  say,  '  Yes ;  and,  while  you  are 
getting  ready,  let  me  step  out  and  see  such  and  such  a 
one.  I  think  the  Spirit  of  God  is  working  on  his  heart.' 
He  took  almost  no  time  for  rest.  He  did  not  walk  about 
his  Master's  business;  he  literally  ran.  'The  King's 
business  requireth  haste,'  was  his  motto.  Bright  will  be 
his  crown.  Multitudes  will  rise  up  at  the  last  day  and 
call  him  blessed.  He  journeyed  through  all  parts  of  our 
great  country,  never  halting,  never  tiring,  bent  only  on 
fulfilling  the  mission  to  which  God  had  called  him.  Four 
or  five  successive  seasons  he  labored  with  me  in  the  gos- 
pel. When  he  came  he  always  took  the  church  at  once 
upon  his  heart,  and  literally  travailed  in  prayer  for  the 
unconverted  among  us.  The  nights  which  he  spent  at 
my  house  were  nights  of  prayer  and  pleading  for  my  con- 
gregation and  my  ministry. 

"  If  any  one  would  like  to  know  whether  there  is 
anything  practical  in  living  in  the  power  of  *  that 
blessed  hope,'  looking  daily  for  the  return  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  from  heaven,  let  this  life  answer.  The  immi- 
nence of  Christ's  coming,  the  possibility  of  living  to 
see  the  Lord  appearing  in  glory,  was  with  him  a  daily 
inspiration  and  a  most  powerful  motive.      Often  have 


SERVICE  REVIEWED.  233 

I  heard  him  speak  of  this  theme,  and  express  the  long- 
ing that  all  Christians  might  'love  His  appearing.' 
From  waiting  on  earth,  he  has  gone  to  wait  in  Pa^a- 
dise. 

"  Farewell,  dear  man  of  God.  Hundreds  of  Chris- 
tians, while  sorrowing  that  they  shall  see  thy  face  no 
more  for  the  present,  will  bless  God,  as  long  as  they 
live,  for  the  quickening  and  inspiration  which  they 
received  from  thy  devoted  life." 

Rev.  John  W.  Harding,  in  the  Congregationalist, 
contributes  this  equally  appreciative  sketch  : 

"  Multitudes  who  have  been  greatly  indebted  for 
spiritual  help  to  this  beloved  disciple  tenderly  lament 
his  departure,  and  rejoice  in  his  glorious  welcome  to 
the  nearer  presence  of  his  Lord.  Soldiers  who  wore 
the  blue  and  gray  ;  Christian-  and  Sanitary-Commis- 
sion men  and  women  ;  many  repenting  sinners  and 
returning  backsliders  ;  others  to  whom  he  has  been  a 
son  of  consolation  in  their  poverty  and  affliction  ;  many 
v/avering  ones  whom  he  has  brought  to  decision  ;  many 
pastors  whom  he  has  edified  and  instructed  in  needed 
points  of  spiritual  experience  and  pastoral  deficiency- 
rise  up  now,  with  swift  accord,  to  call  him  blessed. 

"  What  a  good  fight  was  his  !  Despised,  rebuffed, 
persecuted,  he  held  right  on,  meekly  and  joyfully,  in 
his  simple,  earnest,  faithful  way,  his  little  worn  Testa- 
ment in  hand,  his  single  eye  fixed  on  Jesus,  Master, 
Saviour  of  lost  souls  ;  his  lips  moving,  even  when  no 
voice  was  heard,  in  unceasing  prayer  ;  ready  to  break 
forth  in  some  familiar  song  ;  his  spiritual  intuitions, 


234  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR. 

quick  to  discern  the  real  soul-needs  of  others,  and  just 
so  quick  to  impart  in  searching,  yet  loving,  words  the 
remedy. 

"  Uncle  John,  while  most  persistent  in  seeking 
after  souls,  was  at  the  same  time  the  humblest  of  men. 
He  esteemed  ministers  very  highly  in  love,  for  their 
work's  sake.  It  has  rejoiced  many  a  pastor's  heart  to 
knov/  how  he  was  praying,  and  getting  others  to  pray, 
for  the  success  of  the  next  sermon,  and  to  look  from 
the  pulpit  into  his  earnest,  tearful,  observant  eye, 
taking  in  every  word  with  such  appreciative  interest, 
glancing  over  the  congregation  to  measure  if  he  could 
the  effect  of  the  discourse,  his  prayers  meanwhile  going 
up  unceasingly  for  particular  souls. 

"  Rebuffs,  coldness,  insults,  were  nothing,  save 
that  they  made  him  sad  for  others'  sake.  He  passed 
on  to  another  house,  and  soon  forgot  the  momentary 
sting  or  smart.  No  harshness  could  quench  the  ardof 
of  his  affection.  No  one  had  any  need  to  ask  his  for- 
giveness. It  had  already  beamed  in  joy  over  the  re- 
turning sinner,  not  for  his  own,  but  (or  Jesus'  sake. 

**  It  was  my  inestimable  privilege  in  the  earlier  part 
of  my  ministry  to  sit  at  the  feet  of  Uncle  John  as  he 
taught  more  effective  methods  of  pastoral  work  in  the 
care  of  souls.  I  met  him  for  the  first  time  at  the  rail- 
road station  one  lovely  day  in  April,  he  having  come 
to  spend  a  week  with  me  in  pastoral  visitation.  While 
the  hands  were  yet  grasped  there  was  established  a 
bond  of  sympathy.  There  was  no  time,  he  thought,  to 
lose.  We  must  begin  our  work  right  there.  The  family 


SERVICE  REVIEWED.  235 

of  the  depot  master  was  nearest,  and  before  ten  min- 
utes had  passed  one  lonely  and  discouraged  soul,  a 
wanderer  from  the  fold,  was  giving  out  with  quivering 
lip  and  moistened  eyes  her  heart's  secret  and  confiding 
depths,  and  we  had  knelt  together  at  the  heavenly 
throne.  And  so  we  went  from  house  to  house  as  they 
came  in  order,  my  heart  fuller  and  fuller  of  sweet  sur- 
prises at  the  swift  access  which  the  stranger  friend 
acquired  as  by  some  talismanic  power. 

*'  It  was  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  that  was  in 
him,  and  which  he  seemed  to  impart  to  me  as  by  a 
magnetic  sympathy. 

"  It  was  again  the  power  of  a  large  spiritual  experi- 
ence of  his  own,  enriched  by  extensive  insight  and  ob- 
servation. His  intuitions  were  quick,  his  questions 
intelligent  and  direct,  his  diagnosis  accurate.  Not  a 
moment's  time  did  he  waste  in  beating  the  bush,  in  making 
careful  and  roundabout  approaches.  The  simple  prepar- 
atory question  was :  '  My  dear  friend,  have  you  experi- 
enced that  change  of  heart  that  the  Saviour  calls  being 
born  again .?'  The  gentle  frankness  of  the  question 
usually  elicited  a  frank  reply.  If  there  was  hesitation 
through  spiritual  doubt  and  darkness.  Uncle  John  was 
quick,  in  manifest  sympathy,  to  draw  out  the  real  soul 
conditions,  and  their  causes  in  the  past.  There  was  no 
delusive  consolation,  no  smoothing  over  the  case  with 
uncertain  remedies,  or  the  offering  of  delay.  Now  must 
be  the  accepted  time,  and  the  decisive  moment,  and  the 
case  must  be  laid  directly  before  the  waiting  Lord  in 
prayer.     No  unnecessary  time  must  be  spent  in  urging 


236  UNCLE  JOHN  VASSAR, 

duty  when  the  light  had  come.  There  were  other  souls 
who  demanded  us,  and  we  moved  on. 

"  What  revelations  by  the  way,  some  cheering  and 
others  sad,  but  when  day  was  over  and  the  night  far 
spent,  what  thrilling  and  abundant  occasions  for  prayer 
that  was  prayer,  at  our  family  altar.  And  what  occa- 
sions for  preaching,  too  ;  different  preaching,  thoughtful, 
well-aimed,  the  winged  arrows,  the  sword  of  the  Spirit 
drawn  from  its  scabbard,  the  encouragements  and  helps 
that  must  be  given. 

"No  professorship  of  pastoral  care  has  ever  taught 
our  theological  students  what  John  Vassar  would  have 
taught  them  in  one  day's  experience  from  house  to 
house.  How  sad  the  ignorance  with  which  our  youth- 
ful ministers  often  go  out  from  their  long  years  of 
scholastic  training  into  the  common  life  of  the  people 
whose  souls  are  committed  to  their  charge ! 

*'  What  a  glorious  power  would  our  Christianity  put 
on  if  in  every  church  there  should  be  even  one  man  or 
woman  with  the  spiritual  energy,  and  motive  and  tact  to 
use  it  that  Uncle  John  possessed !" 

Rev.  Theodore  L.  Cuyler,  D.  D.,  gives  us  this,  in  the 
Evangelist  : 

"  Uncle  John  Vassar  was  one  of  the  remarkable 
characters  who  came  to  the  front  during  the  civil  war. 
With  its  religious  history  his  name  is  as  indelibly  linked 
as  the  names  of  Chaplain  McCabe,  or  D.  L.  Moody,  or 
George  H.  Stuart.  Hundreds  of  soldiers,  when  they 
read  the  tidings  of  his  death,  will  recall  the  beloved  old 
man,  in  his  brown  coat  and  soft  felt  hat,  who  used  to 
tramp  from  tent  to  tent  with  a  satchel  of  Bibles  and 


SERVICE  REVIEWED.  23) 

tracts  on  his  back.  Nor  did  he  only  carry  good  books 
in  that  well-known  satchel.  He  always  had  a  supply 
of  envelopes  and  postage  stamps,  and  a  needle  and 
thread  to  mend  a  ragged  uniform,  or  some  knick-knack 
which  soldiers  always  need. 

**  One  thing  he  was  sure  to  have,  and  that  was  a 
word  in  season.  A  negro  in  the  army  gave  a  capital 
description  of  the  veteran  colporteur  when  he  said,  *  I 
just  tell  you  what  I  think  of  Uncle  John  ;  he  is  a  real 
Christianity. ' 

**  And  so  he  was.  You  could  not  meet  John  Vas- 
sar  on  a  steamboat,  or  in  a  street  car,  or  anywhere, 
without  being  kindled  by  his  fresh,  earnest  talk.  Even 
as  Jacob  brought  the  smell  of  the  barley-field  and  the 
vineyard  in  his  garments,  so  this  good  old  man  carried 
the  flavor  of  his  religion  with  him  ivherever  he  went. 

**  Sometimes  during  his  visits  to  Brooklyn  he  used 
to  drop  into  our  church  prayer-meeting  and  modestly 
take  his  seat  by  the  door.  We  were  always  sure  to 
hear  from  him,  and  his  words  were  nails  in  a  sure 
place.  He  always  illustrated  what  power  there  is  in 
Christian  laymen  when  they  will  '  witness  '  freely  and 
on  all  fit  occasions  for  their  divine  Master.  To-day 
this  land  needs  a  hundred  thousand  Vassars  to  supple- 
ment the  work  of  the  pulpit  and  the  Sabbath-school. 

"  Dear  old  Uncle  John  has  reached  his  last  bivouac. 
The  tireless  frame  that  scoured  the  prairies  of  Illinois, 
and  the  camps  of  the  Union  armies,  and  the  rural 
regions  of  North  Carolina  and  Virginia,  and  the  ever- 
glades  of  Florida,  is  smoothed  to  its  last  quiet  sleep. 
II 


238  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR. 

The  soldiers  and  the  negro  freedmen  will  bless  his 
memory.  And  many  a  polished  pastor  and  profound 
scholar  may  at  the  last  great  day  envy  the  crown  and 
the  reward  of  that  sturdy  minister  in  homespun — brave 
John  Vassar." 

Rev.  Charles  S.  Hageman,  D.D.,  of  Nyack,  N.  Y., 
but  long  pastor  of  the  Second  Reformed  Church, 
Poughkeepsie,  has  this  to  say  : 

"  John  Vassar  was  known  to  me  personally  for  at 
least  twenty-five  years.  I  have  been  with  him  often 
and  much  in  Christian  work.  We  have  labored  to- 
gether in  revival  work,  and  talked  and  planned  for  the 
extension  of  that  work.  He  was  always  the  same — *  a 
man  full  of  faith  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,'  never  de- 
spondent, always  hopeful. 

"  One  thing  seemed  to  occupy  his  thoughts  and  to 
engross  his  life,  and  that  one  thing  was  the  salvation  of 
sinners  and  the  glory  of  God.  You  could  not  meet 
him  even  on  the  street  for  five  minutes  without  seeing 
what  was  the  great  absorbing  interest  of  his  soul. 

"  He  was  very  careful  and  prudent  in  what  he  did. 
He  had  great  respect  for  the  ministry,  and  always 
sought  on  entering  a  place  to  secure  first  of  all  their 
counsel  and  co-operation.  *  Brother  Hageman,'  he 
would  say,  '  the  ministry  is  God's  appointment  for 
saving  men,  and  nothing  can  take  its  place.  Whatever 
other  evangelistic  agencies  may  be  employed,  the 
preached  Word  is  and  will  remain  the  great  power 
unto  salvation.'  He  frequently  came  into  my  study  to 
talk  with  me  about  the  Lord's  work,  and  always  before 


SERVICE  REVIEWED.  239 

parting  he  would  propose  a  season  of  prayer.  I  was 
always  glad  to  join  in  it,  his  heart  was  so  mellow  with 
love  to  Christ  and  for  souls,  and  he  so  wrestled  at  the 
mercy-seat  in  my  behalf. 

*'  All  the  glory  of  everything  accomplished  he  gave 
to  God.  I  never  heard  a  word  from  his  lips  that  could 
be  interpreted  to  mean  the  glorifying  of  himself.  Self 
was  lost  in  love  for  Christ. 

"  In  parting  from  him  I  cannot  but  say,  *  Well  done, 

good   and   faithful   servant.*     May   the    mantle   of  the 

father  fall  upon  the  children.     May  I  not  add,  upon  the 

ministry  of  Christ  ?" 

"  O  man  of  wondrous  piety, 
And  marked  by  such  humility ; 
Who  waits  thy  mantle  to  receive, 
Like  thee  to  love,  as  thee  believe  ? 
The  meek  disciple  everywhere, 
No  sham,  pretence,  but  steeped  in  prayer." 

Another  adds :  "  How  much  Christ  was  to  him ! 
His  heart  was  aglow  with  the  sense  of  what  he  had  done, 
and  was  doing,  and  was  going  to  do  for  him.  How 
sweetly  and  eloquently  he  would  dwell  upon  the  scenes 
of  our  Saviour's  life  !  They  seemed  to  be  always  before 
him.  His  soul  feasted  upon  them.  They  came  into 
his  dreams.  The  memory  of  Christ  was  the  conscious 
fountain  of  his  motive." 

"  He  was  so  humble,  so  brotherly,  so  loyal,  so  true. 
A  right  noble  helper  he  proved  to  be,  interesting  himself 
as  much  as  if  it  were  his  own  parish,  but  always  and 
scrupulously  keeping  himself  in  the  shadow  as  it  were 
of  the  pastor.     He  positively  would  not  take  the  lead 


240  UNCLE  JOHN  VASSAR. 

where  the  pastor  was  present.  Efficient  as  he  was,  wise 
as  he  was,  able  as  he  was  to  exhort,  it  must  always  be  as 
second  to  the  pastor,  and  his  helper.  In  this  he  was  an 
evangelist  of  the  old  school,  to  which  Dr.  Nettleton  and 
Dr.  Kirk  belonged.  His  coming  and  his  going  were 
both  calculated  to  strengthen  the  pastor's  hands  and  to 
tighten  his  hold  in  the  parish. 

"There  was  nothing  of  professionalism  in  his  way  of 
doing  things  and  with  tact  and  knowledge  of  human 
nature  equal  to  his  zeal,  he  was  enabled  to  turn  defeat 
into  success.  Such  a  life  shows  that  the  religion  of 
Christ  is  still  what  it  was  in  the  days  of  the  apostles." 

Rev.  Stephen  H.  Tyng,  Jr.,  D.  D.,  rector  of  the 
Church  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  New  York,  and  one  of 
Uncle  John's  warmest  friends,  adds  the  following  testi- 
mony : 

"  The  Gospel  Tent,  New  York  City. 

"  Uncle  John  Vassar  in  the  Gospel  Tent !  Who 
can  describe  him  }  Who  among  us  was  able  to  compre- 
hend him  }  What  memories  of  his  fidelity  and  ten- 
derness still  abide  among  us  !  Wonderful  old  man  ! 
'  When  shall  we  see  thy  like  again  V  His  was  an 
almost  inconceivable  zeal,  an  unflagging  energy,  and 
these  were  connected  with  a  temper  as  tender  as  that  of 
a  child. 

"This  special  work  to  which  I  am  about  to  allude 
was  really  begun  in  the  fall  of  1875,  as  an  effort  pre- 
paratory to  the  Hippodrome  services  of  Messrs.  Moody 
and  Sankey.  But  it  long  survived  its  occasion.  At 
the    close    of   the   Moody  meetings   the  same  kind  of 


THE   GOSPEI.   TENT 


SERVICE  REVIEW  ED.  2Ji 

labcr  was  employed  in  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Trin- 
ity, and  Uncle  John  was  our  leader.  But  as  summer 
approached  we  purchased  and  pitched  the  Gospel  Tent. 
It  was  circular  in  form,  one  hundred  feet  in  diameter, 
and  forty-five  feet  high  at  the  central  pole.  It  had  a 
seating  capacity  of  two  thousand  persons,  though  by 
the  use  of  the  "  much  grass"  in  the  adjoining  lots,  addi- 
tional hundreds  were  often  brought  under  the  influence 
of  the  Gospel  as  preached  from  its  platform.  During 
four  months  our  friend  and  brother  continued  his  min- 
istry in  connection  with  this  tabernacle.  Its  seals  re- 
main with  us  to  this  day.  Scores  were  by  him  led  to 
the  Lord,  and  hundreds  were  helped  and  comforted  by 
his  apt  words  of  encouragement  and  consolation. 

"  I  shall  never  forget  the  early  morning  prayer- 
meeting  on  June  nth,  1876,  when  v/e  dedicated  the 
tent  to  the  worship  of  Jesus.  The  day  was  bright  and 
cool.  There  was  a  benediction  in  the  breath  of  the 
morning  air.  Uncle  John  seemed  to  perceive  it. 
When  I  asked  him  to  make  the  prayer  of  dedication — 
before  we  ran  the  flag  bearing  the  words  '  The  Gospel 
Tent  *  to  the  perch  of  the  central  pole — his  heart  was 
greatly  enlarged.  I  have  no  doubt  that  he  had  spent 
a  large  portion  of  the  previous  night  in  intercession  for 
the  work.  His  words  were  m'ghty  as  he  implored  a 
Divine  blessing.  But  when  his  voice  was  toned  to 
thanksgiving,  it  seemicd  to  us  as  though  we  should  lose 
him  in  a  rapture.  With  wonder  we  were  led  with 
Elisha  to  say,  '  O  my  father  !  my  father  !' 

"  At    every    succeeding    daily   service,    noon    and 


242  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR, 

night,  he  was  always  on  the  platform  and  in  the  in- 
quiry room.  His  keen  eye  watched  the  congregation 
during  preaching,  and  immediately  at  its  close  he  was 
by  the  side  of  some  anxious  soul  whose  interest  he  had 
through  spiritual  discernment  detected.  And  how 
gentle  was  he  with  such  !  No  shepherd  ever  carried 
lambs  more  tenderly  in  his  arms.  During  the  day- 
time he  spent  the  hours  in  visitation.  The  thermometer 
marked  90°  very  often,  but  he  was  undaunted.  His 
physical  disorders  might  well  have  excused  him,  but  the 
spirit  compelled  the  flesh  to  *  go  about  doing  good.' 
The  success  of  this  tent  work,  under  God,  was  largely 
due  to  his  untiring  labor. 

"  The  quaint  things  which  he  said  and  did  have 
their  place  among  our  memorabilia.  I  remember  his 
criticism  upon  a  very  devout  woman  who  had  aided 
us  greatly  in  the  work  of  the  tent.  The  epithet  is 
always  suggested  by  a  sight  of  her  face.  *  Beloved,'  he 
said,  *  that  good  woman  is  a  cJmnk  of  rock  salt.'  On 
the  only  occasion  when  an  Episcopal  minister  of  High 
Church  tendencies  preached  in  the  tent.  Uncle  John  was 
very  much  excited.  He  rejoiced  in  spirit  that  Christ 
was  preached  in  anyway.  A  true  Pauline  joy  he  had. 
His  ejaculations  through  the  sermon  somewhat  dis- 
turbed the  preacher,  but  the  good  man  could  not  repress 
them.  And  when  the  sermon  was  concluded,  Uncle 
John  prayed — and  such  a  prayer  !  It  gathered  up 
every  possible  want,  and  especially  wrestled  for  a 
blessing  upon  the  preacher,  who  was  greatly  overcome 
by  its  sincerity  and  intensity.     But  it  was  such  a  shock 


SER  VICE  RE  VIE  WED.  243 

to  the  preacher's  churchly  prejudices  that  he  disappeared 
as  soon  as  the  prayer  was  concluded.  To  the  day  of  his 
death  Uncle  John  had  no  truer  admirer  than  that  man. 

"This  sketch  of  a  noble  and  self-sacrificing  work  is 
most  unsatisfactory  to  me,  but  the  space  at  my  disposal 
permits  nothing  more.  Heaven  is  to  me  more  real  since 
this  good  man  has  gone.  He  lived  in  heaven  even  while 
he  walked  on  earth.  The  savor  of  his  holy  life  among  us 
is  a  most  sweet  and  sanctifying  memory.  May  God 
grant  us  grace  to  live  and  labor  like  him,  and  then  join 
him  in  his  well-earned  rest." 

From  Rev.  Charles  H.  Spurgeon's  Szuord  and  Trowel, 
London,  Eng.     Extracts  from  a  Review  : 

''He  was  one  of  the  few  men  who  seemed  to  approach 
Edward  Irving's  ideal  of  an  apostolic  missionary — 'a 
man  of  one  thought,  the  gospel  of  Christ,  of  one  purpose, 
the  glory  of  God.'  Sublimely  imprudent,  as  the  world 
counts  wisdom,  he  was  wise  in  winning  souls.  His 
methods  were  unique,  and  his  tact  was  inspired  by  the 
singleness  of  his  aim  and  the  wisdom  and  energy  by 
wdiich  he  sought  its  realization :  whole-hearted  in  his 
consecration,  he  was  untiring  in  his  labors,  and  not  only 
seized  exisiting  opportunities  for  usefulness,  but  created 
them.  To  be  '  instant  in  season  *  is  a  lower  grade  of 
Christian  service  ;  to  be  instant  *  out  of  season'  is  the 
higher  form  of  Christian  consecration.  Uncle  John's 
labors  were  always  in  season,  for  he  adapted  himself  to 
the  sphere  in  which  he  was  placed,  and  so  compelled  his 
opportunities  that  they  were   '  unseasonably  in  season.* 

"  Uncle  John  not  only  deserves  to  be  called  a  *  good 
soldier  :'     He  was  something  more,  for,  while  fighting 


244  UNCLE  JOHN  VASSAR, 

the  Lord's  battles  himself,  he  was  an  active  recrultinpf 
sergeant  and  never  seems  to  have  missed  a  chance  of 
pressing  home  the  question  *  who  is  on  the  Lord's 
side  ?' 

"  Resisted  or  repulsed  in  his  spiritual  warfare,  he 
never  was  v^anquished.  The  word  defeat  was  not  to  be 
found  in  his  vocabulary,  for  in  all  his  encounters  if  one 
weapon  failed  him  he  was  at  no  loss  to  command  another. 
He  courted  the  hand-to-hand  encounter  like  the  warriors 
of  olden  days,  and  wandered  like  a  knight-errant  in  quest 
of  the  '  king's  enemies,'  whom  he  sought  to  conquer  and 
enlist.  It  is  impossible  to  contemplate  his  triumphs  with- 
out feeling  a  thrill  of  admiration  for  the  man,  and  the 
quickening  of  the  desire,  if  not  the  determination,  to 
emulate  the  example  of  his  life.  Cast  upon  the  resources 
of  his  own  energy  in  early  life  he  acquired  the  habit  of 
self-reliance,  and  learned  to  succeed  where  others  would 
have  failed.  When  recruited  for  the  service  of  the  Lord 
this  habit  became  an  important  factor.  He  could  dare 
and  do  alone  what  others  would  hesitate  to  attempt. 
Dauntless  courage  and  persistent  energy,  when  sanctified 
by  divine  grace,  make  up  the  heroism  of  martyrs. 
Nothing  but  a  seven  days'  religion  suited  Uncle  John. 
To  him  it  was  marvellous  that  Christians  were  not  ail 
ahve,  and  always  alive  to  the  work  of  soul-winning.  No 
sooner  was  he  converted  than  he  commenced  a  career  of 
usefulness  in  which  the  ardor  of  enthusiasm  seemed  to 
intensify  with  his  years.  Loyal  to  Christ  he  was  always 
eager  to  lay  some  trophy  at  the  Saviour's  feet.  *  He 
counted  not  his  life  dear  unto  him  '  in  his  passionate 


SERVICE  REVIEWED.  245 

yearning  to  save  souls.  'All  the  world  was  his  parish,* 
'every  creature'  the  object  of  his  solicitude.  From  the 
altitude  to  which  he  was  raised  by  his  divine  commission, 
social  distinctions  were  dwarfed,  and  all  the  diversities  of 
nationality  and  class  were  merged  in  the  common  condi- 
tion of  universal  ruin.  To  him  the  inspired  verdict,  *  There 
is  no  difference,  for  all  have  sinned,'  established  an  equality 
of  need  ;  while  the  comprehensive  assertion,  '  There  is  no 
difference,  for  the  same  Lord  over  all  is  rich  unto  all  that 
call  upon  him,'  armed  him  with  authority  to  carry  the  gos- 
pel to  every  member  of  the  brotherhood  of  man. 

"  In  every  special  mission  he  undertook,  Uncle  John 
more  than  justified  the  designation  by  which  he  was 
known,  *  The  Shepherd's  Dog.'  There  was  a  reflex  in- 
fluence attending  his  labors.  If,  as  the  shepherd's  dog, 
he  went  forth  and  brought  home  the  wandering  sheep, 
the  pastors  were  stirred  up  to  care  for  them  in  the  fold. 
If  he  endeavored  to  raise  the  churches  to  a  higher  spirit- 
uality, he  left  them  with  a  quickened  desire,  and  the  fixed 
resolution  to  copy  an  example  so  Christ-like.  While  his 
strength  continued  Uncle  John  held  on,  and  when  his 
health  failed  he  was  impatient  of  the  restraint  which 
loving  friends  imposed  v/hen  it  was  clear  to  them  he  had 
'fought  the  good  fight.'  Like  a  Chelsea  pensioner  the 
veteran,  in  recounting  his  victories,  would  not  admit  his 
incapacity  for  active  service.  Dear  old  man  !  the  ruling 
passion  was  strong  in  death.  As  he  had  spent  himself 
in  the  service  of  the  Lord,  there  was  a  solemn  fitness  in 
the  last  words  which  fell  from  his  lips,  *  Farewell !'  '  Hal- 
lelujah,' and  'when  he  had  said  this  he  fell  asleep.' " 
II* 


246  UNCLE  JOHN  VASSAR, 

"  With  loving  heart  and  tearful  eye, 
Sad  friends  were  gathered  near, 
To  watch  the  Christian  hero  die 
A  death  disarmed  of  fear. 

"'Farewell!  Farewell!'  he  murmured  low, 
Then  o'er  those  death-dimmed  eyes 
One  glimpse  of  glory  seemed  to  glow, 
And  Hallelujahs  rise. 

"O'er  hill  and  vale  the  breezes  swell, 
A  requiem  soft  and  sweet, 
Farewell !  a  tender  last  Farewell ! 
Till  we  in  heaven  shall  meet." 

The  following  is  by  Rev.  Gideon  Draper,  in  the 
Christian  Advocate.     Extracts  from  a  Review. 

"  It  has  passed  into  a  truism,  that  religious  zeal  is  a 
condition  of  religious  success.  And  yet  it  is  a  truism 
that  ever  needs  fresh  enforcement.  Worldly  achieve- 
ment hinges  on  passionate  ardor.  They  who  keep  the 
world  from  stagnation,  who  strike  out  new  paths,  inaugu- 
rate new  eras  of  progress,  who  inspire  others  to  action, 
and  overriding  apparent  impossibilities,  accomplish  suc- 
cess and  leave  a  monument  to  their  glory  through  the 
ages,  are  characterized  by  intense  enthusiasm. 

"  Others  had  as  clear  convictions  of  the  world's  suffer- 
ings as  Howard.  It  was  passionate  ardor  that  begat  his 
active  philanthropy.  Erasmus  saw  the  corruptions  of 
Rome  as  clearly  as  Luther.  Melancthon  apprehended 
the  truths  of  the  gospel  from  which  the  church  had  so 
widely  departed  as  clearly  as  Luther;  but  there  were 
needed  Luther's  great  impulsive  nature  and  fiery  energy 
to  stir  Europe,  and  bring  on  the  beginning  of  the  end. 
Many  pious  souls  saw  and  deplored  the  depressed  state 


SERVICE  REVIEWED.  247 

of  religion  in  the  early  part  of  the  last  century  in  Great 
Britain,  but  it  was  the  flaming  zeal  and  holy  ardor  of  the 
Wesleys  and  Whitefield  that  kindled  a  kindred  en- 
thusiasm among  the  masses,  and  breathed  life  into  the 
dead. 

"  This  zeal,  to  the  fullest,  sublimest  degree,  possessed 
John  Ellison  Vassar — familiarly  styled,  '  Uncle  John  ' — 
zeal  for  his  Master,  zeal  for  souls,  steady,  continuous, 
persistent,  tireless,  from  conversion  to  glory. 

"The  universal  church  of  to-day,  from  the  highest  to 
the  most  humble  member,  may  study  vy^ith  profit  the 
character  of  this  humble  man  of  God. 

"In  the  winter  of  1877  the  writer,  exhausted  with  the 
labor  incident  to  a  widely-extended  work  of  grace  in 
Coxsackie-on-the-Hudson,  looked  abroad  for  help.  The 
Episcopalian  Tyng  sent  the  Baptist  Vassar  to  assist  in 
this  Methodist  revival.  Uncle  John  belonged  to  the 
universal  church.  He  was  now  near  the  close  of  his 
career.  In  energy,  zeal,  and  success,  we  have  never  seen 
his  equal.  He  was  preeminent  in  personal  contact  with 
men,  house-to-house  visitation,  and  in  the  social  meeting. 
The  remembrance  is  a  benediction  and  an  inspiration. 

'"This  land  needs  to-day  a  hundred  thousand  John 
Vassars.'  The  same  mighty  faith,  loyalty,  and  love  to 
Jesus,  thorough  consecration,  unbroken  prayer,  fulness, 
Bible  intimacy,  tender  sympathy,  and  quenchless  ardor, 
would  fashion  and  inspire  them  for  kindred  service. 
The  world  is  hungry. 

"  May  the  reader  be  clothed  with  the  mantle  that  fell 
from  the  ascending,  triumphant  hero,  Dec.  6,  1878  !" 


24S  UNCLE  JOHN  VASSAR, 

From  the  Christiaii  Age,  London,  Eng. 

"  There  is  a  great  deal  in  a  name.  General  Taylor 
will  always  be  remembered  as  old  '  Rough  and  Ready.' 
The  fiery  Puritan  of  the  Southern  army,  Jackson,  was 
well  described  as  '  Stone-wall.'  Uncle  John  Vassar,  the 
celebrated  colporteur  of  the  American  Tract  Society, 
who  tramped  America  over  from  one  ocean  to  the  other, 
was  known  as  the  *  Shepherd's  Dog.' 

"  He  did  not  claim  to  be  a  shepherd,  for  he  put  great 
power  upon  an  educated  and  ordained  ministry.  He 
regarded  himself  only  as  a  faithful  dog,  hunting  after  the 
stray  sheep  of  the  Master's  flock,  and  endeavoring  to 
bring  into  the  fold  those  Christless  souls  who  were  wan- 
dering over  the  devil's  commons. 

''  I  have  known  some  extraordinary  Christian  workers 
in  my  day,  but  I  count  Uncle  John  Vassar,  Dr.  Andrew 
Bonar  of  Scotland,  and  D.  L.  Moody,  to  be  the  three  men 
preeminently  who  could  always  season  their  conversation 
with  gospel  salt,  and  yet  never  incur  the  suspicion  of 
cant.  They  all  overflowed  with  the  love  of  Jesus,  and 
out  of  the  abundance  of  the  heart  the  mouth  spoke  the 
right  word  at  the  right  moment. 

"America  is  filled  with  racy  anecdotes  about  Un- 
cle John — as  the  missionary  of  Dutchess  County,  as  the 
colporteur  over  the  prairies  of  Illinois,  as  the  loving  la- 
borer in  the  Union  camps,  and  as  the  instructor  of  negro 
freedmen  clear  down  to  Florida.  He  was  really  one  of 
the  most  remarkable  men  the  American  church  has  yet 
produced.  I  never  talked  with  him  ten  minutes  without 
feeling  the  electric  spark  of  his  piety. 


SERVICE  REVIEWED.  249 

"As  I  contemplate  this  life,  and  see  what  one  'Shep- 
herd's dog '  could  do  in  looking  after  the  stray  sheep  I  am, 
more  than  ever  impressed  with  the  prodigious  power  of  ^^^- 
ly  laymen.  Say  what  we  will,  there  are  not  a  tenth  part  as. 
many  ordained  ministers  as  the  immense  field  demands. 
There  are  a  hundred  things  which  we  ministers  cannot 
do ;  and  unless  the  million  or  more  servants  of  Christ 
outside  of  the  pulpit  do  these  needful  things,  then  this 
generation  of  souls  will  be  the  awful  losers.  John  Vassar 
supplied  the  'missing  link'  between  the  pulpit  and  the 
people.  His  was  genuine  soul-hunting  and  soul-winning 
work.  He  absolutely  did  more  positive  service  for  the 
Master  than  some  evangelists  who  peregrinate  the  land 
addressing  crowded  auditories.  He  dealt  with  individ- 
uals, and  that  is  the  key-note  of  permanent  success. 

"Why  do  not  thousands  of  other  laymen  and  women 
enact  the  blessed  part  of  '  shepherds'  dogs,'  like  Uncle 
John  }  Even  if  they  do  not  turn  colporteurs,  why  can  they 
not  lay  hold  of  the  unconverted  around  them,  and,  with 
fervent  prayer,  'pull  them  out  of  the  fire' }  We  fear  that 
the  sad,  honest  reason  is  that  they  do  not  love  their  Lord, 
and  do  not  yearn  for  the  salvation  of  souls,  as  that  grand 
old  man  did  who  was  laid  last  winter  in  his  grave  beside 
the  Hudson.  His  last  word  was  '  Hallelujah  !'  It  was 
the  first  note  in  his  song  of  glory  for  having  turned  many 
to  righteousness.  The  old  'shepherd's  dog'  will  find  his 
rescued  sheep  before  Immanuel's  throne." 

From  the  Illustrated  Christian  Weekly, 

"  We  went,  December  9th,  seventy  miles,  through  a 
driving  snowstorm,  to  join  with  others  in  laying  away  in 
the  grave  the  wornout  body  of  a  plain,  unlettered,  and 


250  UNCLE  JOHN  VASSAR. 

humble  man.  Others  were  there  before  us,  and  from 
greater  distances,  and  hundreds  upon  hundreds  of  the 
most  distinguished  citizens  of  our  own  city,  with  many- 
ministers  of  different  denominations,  were  waiting  to  do 
honor  to  the  memory  of  this  simple  layman.  Every 
mouth  was  giving  utterance  to  his  worth,  every  tongue 
telling  of  his  amazing  work.  Every  heart  was  full  of 
thanksgiving  for  his  life,  and  tears  that  he  was  gone.  A 
solemnity  was  upon  each  face,  a  hush  upon  the  city,  for 
John  E.  Vassar  was  dead. 

"  And  as  this  word  goes  out  over  the  land,  there  will 
be  sad  hearts  and  weeping  eyes  in  Maine  and  California, 
in  Minnesota  and  Florida,  and  in  every  state  between, 
and  this,  too,  in  thousands  of  households.  Whence  this 
widespread  and  profound  interest  in  the  death  of  a  hum- 
ble layman  who  had  neither  birth  nor  wealth  nor  culture 
to  command  the  attention  of  his  age  or  nation  ?  What 
were  the  elements  of  power  in  the  life  of  Mr.  Vassar 
which  made  him,  as  we  think,  the  most  laborious  and  the 
most  useful  Christian  layman  of  his  age  ? 

"  He  was  a  sincere  man. 

"  He  appeared  to  be  thoroughly  honest  in  his  aims, 
and  he  was  what  he  appeared  to  be.  Free  from  guile, 
pure  of  heart,  and  undisguisedly  frank  and  straight- 
forward in  his  purpose,  he  impressed  all  as  a  true-hearted 
man. 

"  On  this  cornerstone  of  unfeigned  sincerity  was  his 
character  builded,  and  from  it  sprang  many  of  his  noblest 
traits.  It  made  him  frank  in  commendation,  fearless  in 
reproof,  unflinching  in  maintaining  the  right,  and  gently 
firm  in  reclaiming  the  erring. 


SEJ^  VICE  RE  VIE  WED.  251 

"  He  was  an  earnest  man. 

"With  an  object  before  him,  his  entire  being  was 
aflame  that  he  might  accompHsh  it.  No  obstacle  was 
too  great  to  be  hurled  out  of  the  way,  no  difficulty  too 
high  to  be  surmounted  when  with  intense  zeal  he  under- 
took work  for  Christ  ;  and  for  thirty  years  he  had  no 
other  work  to  do.  His  soul  was  on  fire  to  save  souls 
and  with  an  intensity  of  desire  which  consumed  him  he 
worked  to  that  end.  This  made  him  magnetic  in  action, 
fervent  in  prayer,  convincing  in  argument,  resistless  in 
appeal. 

"With  the  little  children  he  became  as  a  little  child, 
and  softly  led  them  to  their  Elder  Brother.  To  the  in- 
quiring, but  timid  boy,  to  the  shrinking  and  trembling 
girl,  he  talked  so  frankly  and  lovingly,  that  they  soon 
gained  confidence  and  told  him  of  their  difficulties  in 
finding  Christ.  The  gay  and  thoughtless  young  man 
could  not  escape  the  directness  of  his  appeals  nor  the 
point  of  his  exhortation.  The  scoffing  infidel  cowered 
before  his  gentle,  but  indignant  rebuke,  and  the  hardened 
skeptic,  physician  or  lawyer,  was  often  foiled  by  his  shrewd 
retort  or  his  burning  logic. 

"  His  labor  was  diligent,  but  his  appeals  for  the  Holy 
Spirit  were  unceasing.  As  he  walked  the  street,  as  he 
entered  the  house,  as  he  sat  down,  as  he  rose  up,  when 
he  fell  asleep,  when  he  awoke  in  the  night,  as  he  dressed 
in  the  morning,  always  and  everywhere  his  petition  was 
going  up,  '  Blessed  Jesus,  save  souls,  save  these  souls.' 
Here  and  in  the  constant  study  of  Holy  Scripture  was 
the  hiding  of  his  power.  Thus  he  was  wise  to  win  souls 
"  He  was  a  large-hearted  man. 


252  UNCLE  JOHN  VASSAR, 

**  Few  men  escape  entirely  from  the  restricting  cir- 
cumstances of  early  education  and  the  narrowing  effect 
of  prejudice  ;  very  few  conquer  the  bias  and  preposses- 
sions of  peculiar  training. 

"This  combination  of  characteristics — sincerity,  ear- 
nestness, and  large-heartedness,  all  consecrated  to  the 
one  Master,  Christ — all  devoted  to  the  one  end,  the 
glory  of  Christ — all  suffused,  energized,  and  directed 
by  the  Spirit  of  Christ — made  *  Uncle  John'  Vassar  the 
most  godly,  the  most  laborious,  and  the  most  successful 
lay  missionary  we  have  ever  known.  The  church  of 
God  is  poorer,  and  heaven  is  enriched  by  his  transla- 
tion." 

It  is  eminently  fitting  that  a  resident  of  Pough- 
keepsie  should  tell  of  the  estimate  put  upon  the  man 
and  his  work  at  home  ;  so  let  the  senior  pastor  of  the 
city.  Dr.  F.  B.  Wheeler,  put  the  following  testimonial 
on  the  closing  pages  of  this  book. 

"  Poughkeepsie  is  honored  in  having  been  the 
birthplace  and  residence  of  John  E.  Vassar — the 
place  where  he  was  born  into  the  kingdom  of  God's 
grace,  and  whence  he  went  into  the  kingdom  of  God's 
glory. 

**  This  city  caught  the  first  fervor  of  his  new  life, 
and  witnessed  the  earnest,  heroic  sacrifices  of  his  first 
consecration.  Here  he  began  to  pray.  Here  he  put 
on  the  armor  of  a  true  Christian  knighthood.  Here 
began  those  labors  which  widened  with  the  years  into 
the  most  substantial  and  blessed  results.  From  this 
city  the  sower  went  forth  to  sow  beside  all  waters,  and 


SERVICE  REVIEWED.  253 

from  it  the  sower  and  reaper  ascended  laden  with 
sheaves. 

"  We  feel  that  we  have  been  like  the  two  disciples 
to  whom  the  Lord  joined  Himself  in  their  morning 
walk.  '  Their  eyes  were  holden  that  they  should  not 
know  Him.*  So  we,  though  we  saw  the  shining  of 
his  face,  and  were  stirred  by  his  words,  and  were 
borne  on  the  breath  of  his  prayers,  and  were  made 
familiar  with  his  simple  and  unworldly  life,  scarcely 
knew  the  man  till  he  vanished  from  our  sight.  We 
find  ourselves  dwelling  upon  his  character  with  feelings 
akin  to  reverence,  and  marvel  at  that  grace  of  God 
which  made  possible  and  real  such  a  life — a  life  so 
closely  patterned  after  our  blessed  Lord  that,  as  we 
think  of  it,  it  rises  before  us  as  an  incarnation  of  saintly 
tenderness.  The  writer  of  these  lines  knew  him  in- 
timately for  the  last  twenty  years  of  his  life,  and  knew 
him  as  a  man  of  clean  integrity,  catholic  in  spirit,  an 
enthusiasm  that  many  waters  could  not  quench,  and  a 
piety  of  wonderful  fervor  and  fragrance. 

**  Love  for  the  Lord  Christ  and  for  souls  was  the 
master,  consuming  passion  of  his  life.  During  these 
years  of  our  acquaintance  he  was  occupied  in  fields 
remote,  but  from  his  exhausting  labors  he  would  fre- 
quently return  to  gather  up  and  rebind  the  activities 
which  had  been  so  severely  taxed,  in  the  quiet  of  his 
Poughkeepsie  home.  But  the  man  of  God,  instead 
of  resting,  would  throw  himself  into  our  religious 
movements  with  such  a  flame  of  devotion  as  to  make 
his  presence  like  the  Shckinah  of  God's  glory.     Again 


254  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR, 

and  again  at  such  times  my  knowledge  of  his  return 
would  first  be  had  by  his  presence  in  my  study,  with 
the  earnest  inquiry,  *  How  is  it  with  dear  old  Pough- 
keepsie  ?  '  And  then,  after  a  few  words  of  his  grow- 
ing experience  and  enlarging  views,  he  would  say, 
*  Let  us  have  a  season  of  prayer,'  falling  upon  his 
knees,  pouring  out  such  utterances  as  lifted  one  into 
the  very  presence  of  God.  From  these  interviews  he 
would  go  forth  into  the  streets  and  homes  of  the  city, 
beseeching  men  to  be  reconciled  to  God.  With  us,  as 
elsewhere,  he  was  the  man  of  one  idea,  to  which  all 
things  were  subordinated.  The  Lord  Christ  was  ever 
in  his  thoughts,  and  His  praise  upon  his  lips.  For 
reasons  that  are  obvious,  he  labored  more  abundantly, 
and  with  larger  success,  abroad  than  in  Poughkeepsie. 
Measurably  of  him  it  was  true  as  of  others,  *  A  pro- 
phet is  not  without  honor  save  in  his  own  country  ;  ' 
but  for  all  that,  there  was  no  man  in  Poughkeepsie 
more  respected  and  beloved  than  John  E.  Vassar.  He 
lived  and  died  among  us  as  a  man  of  unquestioned 
piety,  to  whom  all  gave  honor. 

"  It  was  not  hard  for  him  to  get  at  men — he  found 
his  way  straight  to  their  hearts.  His  words  awakened 
no  opposition,  and  roused  no  argument,  such  was 
the  tenderness  of  his  appeals  and  the  manly  consist- 
ency of  his  life.  I  think  the  general  conviction  here, 
for  years,  ever  since  his  conversion,  has  been  that, 
however  it  might  be  with  other  men,  piety  with  John 
E.  Vassar  was  a  living  fact.  And  yet  there  was  noth- 
ing  morose  and  forbidding  about   the   man.      Loving 


SERVICE  REVIEWED.  255 

and  gentle  in  all  his  ways,  he  drew  you  to  himself  in 
the  sweetest  and  most  perfect  of  confidences.  Better 
than  this,  he  so  put  the  loving  Lord  before  you  that 
you  felt  you  could  almost  see  the  face  that  once  was 
marred,  and  grasp  the  dear  hand  that  was  pierced  for 
your  sins. 

**  His  religion  had  none  of  the  weakness  of  mere 
sentiment,  rhapsody,  or  cant  about  it,  but  came  upon 
you  like  a  strong,  fresh  breath  from  the  everlasting 
hills  of  God.  In  it  strength  and  beauty  were  so 
mingled  as  to  constitute  a  sturdy  and  attractive  char- 
acter. 

*  But  it  was  the  simplicity  of  the  man,  and  his  self- 
renouncing,  that  commended  him  to  all  and  made  him 
a  wonderful  force.  Whatever  came  from  his  efforts, 
he  was  accustomed  to  speak  of  it  as  God-produced, 
through  the  feeblest  instrumentality — all  of  God  and 
through  God — he  nothing  but  a  poor  sinner  saved  by 
grace.  Whatever  formulated  religious  belief  he  had 
was  pre-eminently  Biblical  in  matter  and  form,  for 
with  him  the  Word  of  God  was  ultimate  and  supreme 
authority.  The  type  of  his  religion  was  apostolic  from 
core  to  surface.  As  to  the  Lord  Jesus,  he  crowned 
Him  Lord  of  lords  and  King  of  kings,  giving  to  Him 
without  stint  the  homage  of  an  undivided  and  loyal 
heart. 

"  He  was  not  a  great  man  in  the  ordinary  reckon- 
ing of  greatness.  His  education  was  limited,  his  per- 
sonal presence  not  commanding,  and  in  intellectual 
grasp  and  genius  he  was  inferior  to  many  men  ;  but  in 


256  UNCLE  JOHN    VASSAR. 

those   spiritual  characteristics  which  make   a   man  a 
prince  with  God,  few  were  his  equals. 

"  Among  the  pleasant  memories  of  my  life  is  my 
acquaintance  with  this  saint.  Among  the  sweet  and 
lifting  hopes  that  reach  beyond  the  shadows  is  that  of 
greeting  him  again.  Poughkeepsie  will  cherish  the 
memory  of  that  Vassar  whose  munificence  founded  a 
college,  and  it  will  not  forget  that  other  Vassar  who 
lived  and  walked  with  God — the  man  who  has  turned 
many  to  righteousness,  who  has  given  to  the  world  a 
most  signal  illustration  of  the  power  of  a  Christian 
faith.  He  was  twice  born  in  Poughkeepsie  ;  he  lived 
here,  here  he  died,  and  here  his  mortal  dust  sleeps. 
Herein  is  honor  for  which  we  thank  God,  counting  this 
honor  inferior  to  none  other  which  God  has  given  us. 
*  The  Lord  shall  count,  when  He  writeth  up  the  peo- 
ple, that  this  man  was  born  there.' 

Gone  at  last,  to  be  with  Jesus, 

Lord  of  life,  and  Prince  of  peace  ; 
Through  his  loving-kindness  precious, 

Found  from  sorrow  glad  release. 
Darkness  all  now  disappearing, 

Comes  the  bright  eternal  day, 
With  its  light  forever  shining 

Cloud  and  night  have  passed  away. 

Lo,  the  King  in  all  his  glory 

Greets  the  servant  in  the  skies  ; 
Visions  of  surpassing  beauty 

Flash  upon  him  in  surprise. 
Oh  !  the  beatific  meeting 

Of  the  glorified  above. 
One,  who  long  in  labor  serving. 

Wrought  with  zeal  and  burning  lovs. 


SERVICE  REVIEWED,  257 

Brother,  hail  !  forever  ransomed 

From  the  thrall  of  earthly  care  ; 
Cross  and  burden  now  abandoned, 

Robes  majestic  thou  dost  wear  ; 
Royal  harvests  yet  shall  greet  thee 

From  the  fields  that  thou  hast  wrought— 
Souls  arrested,  brought  to  glory, 

By  the  lessons  thou  hast  taught. 

F.  B.  W. 

POUGHKEEPSIE,   N.   Y.,    I879. 

And  now  this  life  thus  outHned  we  leave  to  speak 
To  speak  for  Christ,  to  speak  to  men.  Many  hands 
have  helped  to  sketch  it.  Possibly  some  features  may 
appear  to  have  been  overdrawn.  To  eulogize,  how- 
ever, or  in  the  least  degree  exaggerate,  has  been  neither 
the  desire  nor  the  design.  To  present  the  man  just  as 
he  was  has  been  the  steady  aim.  And  that  not  that 
he  might  be  magnified,  but  "  to  the  praise  of  the  glory 
of  His  grace." 

It  has  been  the  hope  and  prayer  that  through  the 
man  his  Master  might  be  seen — that  Master  who  made 
him  what  he  was. 

The  beauty  of  holiness,  and  the  blessedness  of  ser- 
vice, and  the  grandeur  of  sacrifice,  are  the  lessons  of 
his  life. 

This  is  the  call  which  it  sounds  in  the  ears  of  every 
soldier  of  the  Lord  :  Sink  self  out  of  sight  in  Christ. 
Warn,  persuade,  entreat  men  to  be  reconciled  to  God. 
Pray,  wrestle,  believe,  and  through  the  might  of  the 
indwelling  Spirit  turn  others  from  sin  to  righteousness, 
and  thus  thin  perdition  and  people  Paradise. 


258  UNCLE  JOHN  VASSAR, 

So  shall  the  heart  keep  full  of  holy  joy.  So  shall  life 
look  bright  from  a  dying  bed.  So  shall  the  wandering 
and  the  lost  be  found.  So  shall  the  Father  be  glorified. 
So  shall  the  Son  see  of  the  travail  of  His  soul. 

*'  Let  us  draw  their  mantles  o'er  us 

Which  have  fallen  in  our  way. 
Let  us  do  the  work  before  us 

Calmly,  bravely,  while  we  may  ; 
Ere  the  long  night-silence  cometh 

And  with  us  it  is  not  day." 


DATE  DUE 


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